Vita Plastica

I want to use such profanity right now! At the precise moment on Christmas Eve I was unpacking the doll closet, where my the poor Grandvillians have languished these long months, our landlord rolled up, unannounced to tell us he's selling the place and basically we have to leave. Let me tell you, it was a somber Christmas, putting on the brave face for the kids and such. Fudge!!! So no unpacking of dolls, no reboot of projects. No doll blogging! This sucks. But let's look on the bright side. Perhaps we will find a better house, put down some roots and get in debt to the bank for the rest of our lives. If we're lucky! So my dears, it will be two months of purging a lot of junk and packing up. Sigh. I hope I'll pop in with a pic now and again. And I'm still doing a doll give away when I reach 100 followers. I'm at 96! I'll be sure to put together a giveaway doll and keep her in a safe place. Sorry for the big tease! I'll see you around the ides of ...

Look, crafting for the kids is fun and all but I am missing my dolls! Facebook ruining my writing style. I can only think in short blurbs. I need my dolls, my blog and mostly my awesome doll friends. And you know what, I'm still desperate for the kids to go to bed. But now, after they're in bed, I'm pacing the house wondering what else I can do but prep kiddie crafts! Corset Kitten  had it right when she told me I had to keep writing. I'm craving it desperately. So the plan is this: the week after Christmas, I'm moving the girls into one room. Then Iris's room (which was the original Barbie room) will be their classroom. (Their class room is currently in the old Barbie room/craft room). Their classroom/playroom will have lots of space and room for the ridiculous lesson plans I've been doing. Anywho, look for me near the beginning of the year. Let's make some drama again! smooches! dani

You know guys, I've been thinking about 16 inch dolls for a while. I could just get a few, let's say two, a couple. Or maybe 5 so I can create a little drama. I could build sets only for them. I could build a collection from the bottom up without being tempted by the cheap easy allure of pink plastic. I could take my time. Or maybe just one and I could make clothes for her.  I dunno, I'm feeling tempted.  I'll start small, with a Tonner. I can't say I'm in love with much of it. But I've always found Tyler Wentworth/Esme very pretty, if soulless and snooty looking.  There's one called Deanna Denton who is lippy and beautiful . These dolls don't have much life when they pose. I wonder what their range of motion is really like. I took a look at Urban Vita but man those are some terrible paint jobs . (did you see that link? The hell?) Some clothes are nice but it's like the dolls were an afterthought. Jamie Show is nice, but pricey for a beginner. ...

Dudes and Dudettes: Come follow my new blog if your heart is broken that I'm leaving you all or you want to see me fumble at more types of crafts or you're a Pinterest junkie or whatever: http://vitacraftica.blogspot.com/ smooches, dani

You've heard this before: I'm going on a hiatus! But this time my friends, it will be much longer. The dolls and all their homes will be packed up, organized and stored. I have not told any doll people until now but the non doll folks are very unhappy at this news. Sometimes people think of your hobby as all of who you are.  When I stopped writing novels (because they were crap), I was depressed for a while. Having considered myself a writer since I was about 13, to be without it gave me no definition. Who was I? During the years that followed, I did all manner of crafty fun. And none of it satisfied like dolls. Creating the characters and worlds was a lot like writing. And when I did add writing to it, it was even better. But then came the kids. At first it was easy to balance, with them being so small and immobile and sleeping all the time. But now, they need me. My home needs me, my husband needs me, my total lack of style needs me (who wants style when someone's...

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll notice my husband always gets my presents waaay early. This year is no exception. My birthday isn't for another 6 weeks or so but my newest addition yesterday! But first, let's talk about Twilight Edward. He is the lead singer of my doll band, The Vinyls. But he's fallen out of  Grandville society because of that stiff body. But I like him. He has interesting hair and looks masculine. But he's so pale, I couldn't find a good body for him. So I got this Justin Bieber set of instruments, one for each of the Vinyls's bandmates. But how could I let Edward on stage?  I remembered seeing Cat from A Doll Affinity  had painted her stiffy to match a new body. But I'm a chicken, so decided to use makeup. I tried several eye shadow colors, which made him look like he was wearing blackface. So I tried my concealer and it was a damn near perfect match to the Harley Davidson body. Concealer is not permanen...

But first, some news: Projects: Still working on the studio space for Remi and Bailey. The Hubs came in and voiced what was in my head, "So where is that kid supposed to sleep? That's messed up. There's no room for him?"  The last thing I wanted in Grandville is a kid's room. I don't want this rated R world changing into something wholesome. Buuut, if there is to be a custody battle for Julian, I have to make the case, right? So on top of the studio space, I'll build a little room for the brat to use. Maybe I'll give it a fun theme or something. Space or sci-fi or something that doesn't involve sports. I'm also working on a space backdrop for Nymeria and her sister. Then I can finally introduce you. I decided to go with a sort of cheesy 60's sci fi movie thing. That's what inspired the Alurium Vaccarra anyway. So, a sort of intentionally cartoony backdrop. The last project for now is my high school. I wanted it to be a three-...

I'm home today, the kids are at school (half day), so I decided to take some pictures with my little window of time. I rarely show the gypsies and one of you guys requested it, so here they are! "Hello, I am Carmen Kirpachi. Welcome to our home." "This is my husband Milosh." "Hallo."  "This is my brother, Franco. While his gaje girlfriend Josephine is in Paris, he's spending a lot more time with us." "Excuse me, I have to put some more wood in the stove so I can get dinner started." "My goat stew is Milosh's favorite but we need to get the pot hot first." "This is my living area, also known as Franco's bedroom. But we don't mind. The Romany love having family around." "Milosh says I drive like a fugitive so he doesn't let me drive very often." "But sometimes I put a glamour on him and he forgets how much he hates my driving." ...

Okay so the place is done. Ish. The studio is of course, still really raw. And I didn't estimate the actually space properly, so I had to turn the room around. What was imagined to be this: Is now this. Which I actually prefer. Originally it was going to be in the back of the structure so we could have a peek of paint splattered walls from the living room. So that has to be cleaned up a bit. Anyway, here's the tour: Ooops, the stairs are still in my basement workshop. Here's the main level. Correction: Here is Remi shirtless on the main level. Grrrowl! Here's the upper level. Hmm, can't see much up there, can you? This is going to need a redesign unless I move the house to a shorter table. Here's what's upstairs now.  Yeah, you're not missing a whole lot. "You may be acquainted with our shared studio." "That flesh woman promised me a TV! I'm missing Dr. Who!" Remi frets. The room div...