Vita Plastica

Photos and Stuff.

2012-02-08T20:42:00.002-05:00

Hi guys,

I think I'm finally going to work on a photo story. It's going to be a far cry from what it should be, like well thought out and plotted. But life keeps moving in Grandeville and you need to be up on all the gossip!

So I'll be taking some time to work on touching up the pics and putting them in Comic Life.

Meanwhile, I'm working on the airplane again. I gotta have it ready for the honeymoon. I SEWED slipcovers for the chairs. Looks pretty nuts but at least I tried.

But here some photos to share because I love you. This is what some Grandvillians were doing after Dani's shower.

"Dude it was this big!"
[You'll get this joke later, I promise.]

Morgan tokin' on her bong. (Thanks to Caesar's Bluntman and Chronic action figures!)

Zarrin checking her Facebook again.

The saddest park bench ever. Even the chipped plant looks sympathetic.

Penny sits on the saddest park bench ever.

Grandville Park. What is that streaky spot? Maybe I'll make a pond over it.

Valentina and Nadia hang out in the DJ room. Still working on it...

Sooki tells Johnny Tan about the shower. He feigns interest in hopes of nookie.

June just workin' it.

See you in a billion years when the first installment of the wedding stories will be ready!

smooches

Power to the People!

2012-02-04T09:09:00.000-05:00

Greetings my friends! I'm sorry I've been AWOL lately. My job is making it just impossible to slack off and hang out on the blogs. Selfish! In exchange for your forgiveness, I present to you my devilish idea. Well, I'll let Dani explain.

"Hello Big Folk. My name is Dani Fear. You may not recognize me because my most merciful Goddess doesn't see fit to feature me very often. No matter because I am the bride and it's my time now."

"Almost as if I'm being punished, The Great One you all know as Dani, has taken it upon herself to ruin my most sacred day. And she bids you to help her. Awesome."

"We all know the dress is the only party of the wedding anyone cares about. Just like awards shows. Now the power is in your hands, Giantesses. You will pick my wedding dress. I beg you not to fail me."

Dress 1: "This is the most hideous thing I've ever seen. Please tell me this is a gag dress."

Dress 2: "Oh I see, my prince is to rescue me from myself? By the way if you can't see, this is covered in green glitter."

Dress 3: "Hmm, despite the silver glitter this one isn't half bad. Looked much cheaper on a lesser doll."

Dress 4: Oooh, I feel like a Manhattan sophisticate. Tres elegant!

Dress 5: "Oooh, I'm a princess!"

Dress 6: "Oh I feel like waltzing in this. Dreamy."

"So what's it going to be ladies? My special day depends on you!"

Keep in mind, these are the bridesmaid dresses:

Vote Now!

Happy Anniversary to me and the Hubs!

2012-01-23T20:37:00.001-05:00

Okay so our anniversary isn't until February 8th but the Hubs got into the spirit early!

Forgive me as I figure out how to do lighting. But hey, I'm using lights!

Grandville's favorite pusher, Morgan cruises in her new Mini Cooper with new beau (and new Obitsu body).

"And they told me to go to college?"

"I hope you know if you touch that steering wheel, you'll be pulling away a stump."

You've probably seen the interior photos but here you go:

"I lurve this car!"

And I also:

Fixed Rockabilly Zeke's pompadour (Legolas Ken)
Made just the saddest park bench you've ever seen
Found a proper home for the cafe.
Blew like $100 on wedding dresses.

Including this doll below. There's a story behind this, wanna hear it? Great, take a seat. So I'm in my early twenties and I'm walking through the mall and one of those survey people stop me. I mostly hate talking to people but I'm drawn to surveys. Weirdo.

So whaddya know, the survey is about BARBIES! I was stoked. I got to sit in a private room with a computer screen showing me upcoming Mattel ideas for the collector stuff and asking my opinion. As a gift, they gave me this The Swan Barbie! She was just gorgeous! I adored her. Then one day I came home to see that my dog had chewed her legs off.

(I was green then and a stranger to just switching damn bodies.)

Okay off to plot a new park bench. The foam core frame looked a mess so I covered it with clay and it got even worse.

smooches,
dani

Blog's a Changin'

2012-01-18T09:50:00.002-05:00

I just took a look at some of Blogger's new layouts and they look really cool. So I'm going to be fiddling around here for the next week to see what I like best and what works for all of you.

Please comment and let me know how you like it or hate it. Blogger has been temperamental lately but I hope this will work!

smooches,
dani

The Flagstone Walkway and Repainting!

2012-01-16T19:46:00.000-05:00

I'm my own worst critic, but I am really pleased with this flagstone walkway. I think Dolly University is really paying off. Okay I haven't called it Dolly University in a while. No one was joining in the fun and I never feel comfortable doing a tutorial unless the result is worthy of one. So I just show the results.

But I will tell you, I just ripped up some paper egg cartons glued the "stones" down with a little Elmer's and did some dry brushing with gray paint and then a little green. The texture of the egg cartons did all the work. I used this tutorial as well as the links at the bottom of that page.

Before:

After:

Okay so the "grout" got a little messy but I am too lazy to fix it up and too afraid I'll make it worse. And really, what pictures will be from this angle?

I'll show the finished park soon. I was going to buy a park bench but why not make it? So there's that, then mulch for the ground beneath the trees. The grass needs some clean up too. I might just flock parts of it to look like weeds are growing. And I'm supposed to make a few steps out of stones but the ones I fished out of the creek are too sandy. Even hot glue won't make them stick after a vigorous cleaning. Maybe more egg cartons...

My First Repaint

I really liked the way my face-ups have been coming out. And each one gets better, so I took a chance and gave one of my old FR's an acetone facial.

Now let me just preface this by saying that is practice only. I didn't take my time, wasn't very careful, used cheap paint and didn't even water it down. And yes, she'll get redone. And she will have lipstick at some point. But wow, it went much better than I had hoped!

I don't have a good "before" pic, so check out this one on Flickr.

This is how she turned out.

I kept her eyebrows, so she still looks pretty evil. I need to work on her character before I proceed. Her eyes are gray because that's what was sitting on the table at the time. Now I have to study up on repainting. My eye doesn't pick up on things useful for painters like light and shadow and tiny detail. And how to do complex eye shadow is beyond me! I just do their makeup the way I do mine. Liquid liner, mascara and call it a day!

Sitting Kyori next to Beach Rebel Natalia (the next victim) makes the latter look like a prostitute!

Speaking of which, Grandville does not (officially) have a prostitute. (Yes, there is an unofficial prostitute) I must remedy this right away. What sort of slutty town like mine doesn't have a prostie?

Wedding Update:

I have decided to start really focusing on Dani's wedding. Right now the bridal shower is getting set up, but I'm going to wait for Mademoiselle Marie to return from being rerooted and repainted. Dani needs a real friend and I think Marie might be it.

I'm excited. This is where I will introduce Mama Fear and you will see the relationship she has with her daughters. And there are some side stories within the wedding story that I have to do.

That's all for now folks. Off to construct this park bench and re-pompadour Zeke's hair so he can charm more lady folks.

Smooches,
dani

Wedding Schmedding.

2012-01-13T09:40:00.002-05:00

There are a great many things which people celebrate and treasure that I find incredibly boring and dorky. Graduation ceremonies, Christmas decorations, actually celebrating holidays at all and friggin' weddings. Ugh, weddings. Dreadings.

This is my wedding picture:

This is in the office of the Justice of the Peace. Just how I always dreamed it would be. I'm serious!

Months later we had a big reception and as I was planning it (picture it: fire breathers, burlesque dancers, Chinese fan dancers!), I broke out in hives. I kept a few acts, but had to mellow it WAY out.

All in all, it may have cost $500. (including my two dresses) The Hubs is a DJ and all our friends are artists, so all the talent was free and even the venue bartered some free DJ nights. So we had lots of mula left to furnish our house.

I find that much more romantic than blowing $10k on one day that tortures all your family and friends (except for two minutes when they say 'I do', and they're staring into each other's eyes with such love and optimism. I'm bawling my eyes out with the rest of the saps!)

And now, as I will have to do for my girls later in life (please elope!), I have to plan a stinkin' wedding!

I thought I could keep Felix and Dani engaged for years and years. Aren't they cute?

But for some reason I'm feeling a push. I think because Dani's been getting the shaft. She officially one of my top two favorite dolls, but her best frenemy Hanna has been getting all the attention. Dani has a plotline that actually exists outside of my head: http://www.vitaplastica.com/dani-fear.html

And it all culminates with the wedding. It must happen.

The real issue here is, since I hate weddings and have never been the dreamy little girl planning it since age 5, AND I've only been to two real weddings, I have a lot of learning to do! Sadly, Dani is not the eloping kind. She's European so she wants all the fancy crap and to be surrounded by the nuns who raised her. Nuns? Where am I going to get habits?

Thankfully unlike human weddings, you don't have to plan out every little minute detail but it's still going to cost me too much money for a one time thing. Grandeville, you better have more weddings!

So here are the tutorials. I'll be attempting variations on these two things:

http://www.stinkersstuff.com/27.html Wedding Gazebo

http://www.stinkersstuff.com/29.html Confessional Booth

I'm still collecting wedding dresses and gathering materials, so no promises on when this is going to happen. But I guess I'm officially planning the wedding now. Stay tuned for the Bridal shower/Bachelorette party and the Bachelor party!

Have a great weekend!
dani

Need Advice!

2012-01-11T10:08:00.002-05:00

Hi guys, I need some advice.

I was redressing my Momoko and I broke her wrist! It's pretty much irreparable. I was going to just crazy glue it but I lost the little post that makes the wrist move. I was just going to give her a story line. This is terrible.

So can I get a Momoko arm anywhere? I tried an Obitsu arm I have hanging around and that didn't work. I could rebody her but no one on earth is as pale as she is, even my palest doll!

The Hubs had a great idea that i might try. Give her a robotic arm. He even dismantled some action figure to help me out. This is a cool idea. Hardly realistic but I think the lines of realism in Grandville will start blurring.

Anyway, got any other solutions? Replacement Momoko bodies? Dang, those girls are expensive and look so much like children that it's really hard to give them boyfriends. I don't want another one. But I live Morgan, my drug dealer.

Please help! Someone please lend a hand! (okay couldn't resist that.)

smooches,
dani

Swamped!

2012-01-09T16:55:00.001-05:00

Oh my lovies, I am so busy at work, which seems to be the only place I can work on this blog.

I haven't been doing much since the holiday. But I did receive my belated Xmas gifts (wanted to spend all the money on the kids, so I only got the lonely lighthouse keeper and a Justin Beiber outfit)

Anyway I got the two Fallen Angels accessory packs. They are a perfect fit for Dynamite bodies.

And yes all my fine attempts at lighting are gone!

Oh I also got the Barbie Basics (bathing suit gals) accessory pack. The blue one. I'm trying to make it work for June the transsexual but I promptly lost the belt.

I had a little mula burning a hole in my pocket but I couldn't find anything to buy. A bench for the park? A rocking chair for my lighthouse keeper? Much needed plain t-shirts?

No! Something totally unnecessary!

This crap!

Mostly I'm just looking for wedding dresses for Dani and I plan on buying every white dress I see. Plus Rock Hudson is hella handsome. I'm sure I can trade Doris' hideous head or make her an old lady or something.

But the good news is *ta da!* I came in right at my $40 limit. Well, before shipping. Formalities.

Other projects: I ripped up egg cartons, so now I have to glue them to the walkway and paint then lightly.

Also, I hate my fashion royalty dolls. I'm going to try my first real repaints and if they don't work out, it just means returning to the junk drawer.

Anyway dahlinks, have a great week and I'll keep you posted!

OH HEY! Does anyone have another (2) purple Fallen Angel dress like above or the maroon one that came with Zarrin, the Fall Angel above? Dani needs bridesmaid dresses. Edgy ones!

smooches,
dani

Working Vacation

2012-01-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year you guys!!!!

Ah, back at work after a nice long vacation. And I'm totally swamped so let's get to it:

I had a lots of fits and starts but I did manage to get some work done! I busted my hump for 11 days but remembered to take pics yesterday so I apologize! I did use some lighting though, you'd be proud. But then come two little imps who were so excited about the strange cords going around the room, followed by high pitched screaming (by me), so yeah don't bet too excited about future lighting..

First of all, remember the lighthouse?

Sad, incorrectly scaled thing. Well look at her now (still not to scale)

The very top was made of a half circle of foam core, scored on one side and painted black. The window panels are from a Barbie box, hot glued, then covered in the crease and the base with electrical tape. The top walkway is a piece of foam core, covered in contact paper. The fencing is a dollhouse white picket fence flipped pointy side down and painted black with some "salt spray" accents.

The fireplace is a dollhouse base that I covered in those pebbles (giving that huge bag of rocks a real workout!). I added a white washed piece of scrap wood, and a painted block of balsa on the bottom.

Here is the lonely lighthouse keeper (a Christmas present-Star Trek Capt. Pike). I added some gray in his hair and eyebrows. There might be a beard coming later...

It was too tall to fit where I wanted it so I sat it here, where Zarrin used to live. Having a lighthouse in Midtown Grandville is just not acceptable so I'm working on that. Our walls are made of butter or something or else I'd just hang it on the wall. The studs are in weird places so I need a stud finder I think...

This is the other big project. The park. Again, still. I did it this time out of cardboard. I'm making a few stone steps to go from the record store to the park. And I will be making flagstones for the path.

Okay now for Downtown Grandville. The boutique is nearly done.

But I have a problem. Will I never learn that Elmer's glue and foam core are an evil combination? The cafe and "other store" walls are totally warped. Sigh. So the cafe is moving and maybe the other side of it will be Valentina's Auto Shop? I dunno yet.

Below is Hanna's new place. Remi and BAILEY (new name) canoodle.

Zarrin has a new spot. It's a bit bigger here so she should be happy. Don't get used it Zarrin, this is where the lighthouse belongs.

The Alurium Vaccarra hangs from the ceiling. Forgot to show you guys the booster at the bottom. Eventually it will have cotton "smoke" coming out.

Mistress Ava in another new place because the Gypsies rightly deserved her enormous space.

Mama Fear is still getting work done which is why she's allowing her room to be this messy.

She's just about done I think. Did I tell you her human spine cane didn't work out? (You can see it a bit under the pink suitcase.)

So I was on MARTA (Atlanta's public transport) and I saw this woman. If I didn't know better I'd say she was Josephine Baker. Dark sunglasses (at night), big hat, awesome suede boots and this accent that was like she was schooled in England. Every time I see her she has a new fabulous cane. The first one was just a raw branch. So I've done that for Mama Fear.

This is the second version. I broke the handle off the first one, then did it again on the 2nd! But I just glued it. F it.

Here's her old lady face paint. And the updo I did for her. Barely had to cut off anything.

I did some makeup for June and I really like the way she turned out. I love doing face-ups! I may never be a PeeWee Parker but I'm very happy with my attempts so far.

Your favorite girl Hanna got her bangs done. I never even knew she had green eyes.

Aoki got her hair fixed too but still needs some work.

I'm exhausted but I still have more photos for you:

Because I never spend time with them and never unveiled the caravan, the Romany!

Milosh and Carmen (just named him. Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode...)

Okay lemme do some work before I get fired!

Riot in Grandville! An Ode to Cat.

2011-12-19T09:08:00.001-05:00

Oooh my friends I did some good work this weekend! The boutique is almost ready to go, the wall art is up in the cafe and okay the third wall is a warped monstrosity but I still feel very accomplished. I repainted Mama Fear's eyes, Ms. Fear's and Miho's as well. It's easy when you are using one color and not highlight it at all. But some of the Fear ladies need cold dead eyes with little feeling. And some...have just seen too much.

I had a baby shower to attend and last minute Christmas shopping so my time was fairly limited. Plus I spent a bazillion years setting up the scene below.

I got home to a wonderful surprise on Friday. I package for ME! Did I order something I forgot about? Don't you love when that happens? But no, it was a present from my friend and yours, Cat from A Doll Affinity.

Then the girls (the plastic ones) got word of the new merchandise and things got a little violent:

Dani and her Step Auntie Zarrin (who is two years younger) do battle over the hot pink top with ruffled collar.

Nadia fights Hanna over the black leather with silver stripe cropped pants. Be careful Nadia, that girl might whip out a razorblade hidden in her bangs.

While everyone is distracted, Sookie goes "Yoink!" [The wristlet has been claimed for Remi's girl, Bailey (formerly Alisha) who is a keyboard player] I'm sorry Smidge, I just read that you have a Bailey but I had no choice. Film at 11.

Nadia defeated Hanna in the Battle of the Striped Pantalones

Zinna was the clear victor in the Clash of the Fuschia Blouse. But since she only wears party dresses this was just for sport.

She also scored the super glam-rock drag queen shoes. I think I'll have to pass these around to each girls. They are friggin' fabulous.

Sooki models her score. What is it with punker chicks loving the UK? You know we invent punk stateside, right ladies?

These shades are perfect for Hanna. She looks like a 70's Puerto Rican dude scoring some smack.

Thank you so much Cat! You are awesome. You know our taste very well!

Have a great holiday you guys! I can't wait to see what you all got. I myself have already peeked. Okay I bought it myself and told the Hubs he can have credit for it.

smooches,
dani

Give in to Tempation!

2011-12-15T13:40:00.001-05:00

You know, I have to confess, looking at doll stuff to buy gets me a little...aroused? High? I'm not sure how to describe it. Maybe euphoric. So when I hear that Smidgehouse is open again, I flip out a little.

Then I realize, wow, it's almost Christmas and I cannot afford an unarticulated blonde big headed Barbie much less a piece of irresistible Smidgehouse furniture.

I was shaking like a crackhead. I had to have this. But how? I called The Hubs. I described it and he said, "Cool, maybe I'll get it for you on our anniversary." What? That's in February! All her stuff could be sold out and I would have to live a desolate life without the love and comfort of this beautiful sofa. Why couldn't the hubs just tell me to spend the bill money on it? Useless!

I tried to think. Do I have secret stashes of money? I usually do somewhere but couldn't think of anything!

Then I remember a certain older chap who had some (likely brief) part in creating the fetus that became moi. My dad owed me. Maybe he didn't remember making a drunken ass of himself at my party but he definitely forgot my BIRTHDAY. I am a daddy's girl so he is usually allowed these little transgressions with a shake of the head. "Oh Daddy, what are we gonna do with you?" But now, guilt was my secret stash of money. And he agreed! Sweet!

Did I need a couch? Nope. But sometimes it's best to just give in and let the waves of shopping euphoria wash over you.

After an epic death match, only one doll was left standing to claim her prize.

"Who did you think it would be, losers? I fight dirty."

It's massive, about the size of the Barbie Adler sofa. Comes with about a million pillows.

"This one's my favorite."

It's a cozy place to lay down and think about your bangs.

A perfect spot to land to come down off your 3 day drinking bender.

"I could puke on this and the stain would be totally disguised."

"And it's great for making sexy time with my boyfriends. Or yours, whatever."

I hope you guys have been by the new Smidgehouse shop. You can really see (in pics and in person), how much stronger her work has gotten. Go on now and 'git before she goes off on a new assignment!

UPDATE: It's actually bigger than the Adler couch. It doesn't fit in the tiny shelf that was her temporary home. So now I get to build a place around this couch. Remember I mentioned doing the 2.5 Mens' mom's condo? I can't even find the blog post about it, but I do have a sketch and it's totally possible with a lotta foamcore...Stayed tuned for that in 2013. For now, Miho got kicked out of her apartment. Sorry kid.

smooches,
dani

What I've been up to. Long post, mucha fotos!

2011-12-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have a project that just goes wrong at every turn and at the end, just when you think it's okay, it's actually crap and you want to jump up and down and scream and smash the dang thing into a ball? No? Just me?

I present to you, the outdoor areas.

Sidewalks. All in all, I like the paint job. Maybe I went a little overboard with the flocking in the cracks.

The one in front of the record store is the only one that came out the way I wanted. Those white spots are that gummy stuff you use to hang posters. I plan on blackening them to look like discarded gum.

The sidewalk in front of Josephine's. There behind the chair, you get a sneak peek of the beautiful beaded jewelry sent to by my Alrunia. I've been meaning to show it, but decided to save it for the opening of my accessory shop.

The sidewalks here should have been cut out a bit at the corners to account for the type of shelf I used. Instead, they are elevated using some foam pieces for now.

Le sigh, this is where trouble really is. It is maybe my greatest success and my worst failure. So many things went badly. First, I measured EVERYTHING wrong. Look at where the sidewalk ends. (Not in an optimistic Shel Silverstein way either). Who measured that? Iris (the two year old)? The hedge bumps against the record store, so I moved all that over. Still it is sadness!

Really the balding flock is not so bad in some light.

Here is where some of the problems started. I used twigs at the bottom, but should have put it in the base, not the hedge. Twigs ripped through the hedge and I had to go over it like 100 times. It's still balding. I added the stones and pebbles too early so that I still had green flock everywhere and now it's probably glued to the stones.

I had to cut of that section of foam, use a new piece and you can see the color toothpicks I used to affix the new piece of foam. Bah!

It just feels like a project I should just start over. It's easier than correcting all my mistakes.

Now for the good news!

You may recall that sometimes when I get a new doll, I photograph her against some hideous vinyl tablecloth. You see I inherited my grandmother's beautiful antique table but the finish has chipped away and rather than get shellac in the baby food, we cover it up with something from which baby food can easily be wiped. Anyway, got a new tough table, so of course, any spare bit of furniture I just have to claim for the dolls!

So here is what the table looks like. This will be downtown Grandville which will consist of 3 shops. What? It's a small town! We will have an accessory shop (ever been to London's Accessorize? Drooooool!), a witchy store, and a cafe. Or maybe one of those will be sort of interchangeable so I can make it many things.

So step one is done. Covering it with speckly contact paper. The masking tape is helping me map out the space. This will be the flooring of the shops. Then along the outer edge I'll have a cobblestone walkway. Then again, if I'm putting all this effort into the cobbles, maybe I should make hardwood floors. I have been saving coffee stirrers for ages now. We'll see. For now I'm working on the walls. And PLANNING. I love making plans (like writing long list of what I will do) but not like planning (measuring and math and such).

What else have I been up to? I made my nightclub. But before we get there, let's check out some silly stuff. Iris loves to steal my cars and I let her because I never use them and the paint job usually looks like the one her Dora doll is driving:

Isobel is FINALLY at the age where not every single thing goes in her mouth, so she really gets to enjoy the doll room now.

The Hubs cleaned up the kids' playroom the other day and he arranged their Barbies like so. Someone secretly wants to come to my room and play.

Mama Fear's bedroom. I have since added a large stork tapestry print on the back wall, as well as framed pictures of her and her sister (Comme ca du Mao Susie and Hanoi Hue Susie). I'm still going to build her a Buddhist altar when time allows. The human spine cane isn't working out. It's too thick and short for her. But I'm still building her a cane. We'll talk more about that later.

My aunt gave me a tiny Noah's ark tea set. A little large for one sixth, but the teapot might serve well. Josephine collects teapots. She does strike me as a Catholic though most of my dolls don't have much religion.

I fit this house in between Josephine's and the record store. I'm not sure how I decide who deserves homes, but this one goes to Zarrin Chen, Mama Fear's stepdaughter. (Stardoll fallen angel). As an party promoter, she has the tiny NY style apt. Don't mind the floors, this is a mock up. It's a little homey for a girl like her, so I have to give her some edgy curtains and maybe paint the walls or something.

Still working on DJ Nadia's room. Just hanging some posters for now. More to come. I think black and white checkered floors would be better.

Now, my friends, we have a party to go to. Josephine threw this bash to introduce the new girls Valentina and Zarrin. This is Ms. Fear's newly decorated, Andy Warhol's Factory themed nightclub, Population.

Mistress Ava judging Zeke for dating 17 year old Penny. I think she grows weary of Aragorn. He does cling so. She is a dominant woman for a living. She doesn't want to come home to that. Well not every day.

Dani: Look we've known each other a long time Hanna. Whaddya say we bury the hatchet?
Hanna: B*tch, have you seen my bangs? I have bigger fish to fry. Oh and you need some sticky tape before that dress falls off. [Hanna sporting two Alrunia bracelets]

Meanwhile, nerdboys attempt to get a drink from Janaina who is so hot, she makes them nervous.

Remi introduces his new girl Alisha to his sister Nikki and their aunt Josephine. Nikki mutters, "Hmm, well at least she's black this time." Josephine (who is in love with a Spanish gypsy) tsks at her. [Alisha looks so happy with him! She's never looked prettier. I thought he was going to be a real ladies man. Not THIS Ladies's Man. But he turned out to really like her.]

Edward: So you're from China. I actually spent my junior year in Beijing...

Zarrin: Hold on a second, I just have to finish this text.

Meanwhile Ms. Fear watches this new girl that has captured Mama Fear's love, something none of the Fear daughters could accomplish.

Valentina: Got any Lady Gaga?

(Just kidding, Valentina listens to classic soul and rockabilly)

Check out the set of decks I got from Cat at A Doll Affinity!

Some of the Warhol decor.

I like this pic because Hanna looks a little drunk and Morgan, the Momoko is checking out my nerd boys, Ian and Unnamed Star Trek Sulu doll.

Good God, her bangs need help. I dunno how many times I have given her the steamy dunk! I saw someone once lay a towel over a Blythe doll and iron her hair. Think that might work? Elmer's glue?

Well my darlings, I have a full week off after Xmas so I'm going to make some serious doll plans!

Before that I'll post about my belated bday present from my dad that I guilted him into buying. My stomach is in knots just waiting for it. Don't worry Hanna, you will soon have a present to make up for those sad bangs!

smooches!
Dani

Introducing Nymeria and the Alurium Vaccarra

2011-11-28T16:47:00.001-05:00

Ever have a couple of days off Facebook and though you wonder what happened to your friends over the long weekend, you can help feeling a little peaceful?

That's how I feel in my week of staying off the blogs and forums and various sites. But I missed a lot! So many cool posts! It's going to take a while to dig myself out.

One must wonder, did my creative spurt have something to do with not being all over the web looking at what everyone else is doing?

Anyway let's get to it. So on my birthday, my three Stardolls arrived! Aside from the outfit, that Paris one was not cute. I dunno, she's too boring looking. But Iris was THRILLED that she got a new, dressed doll. Well for a few minutes anyway.

Did you know that they can't bend their legs? Like they can't sit down? Terrible. Anyway, the other two were great! Inspiring.

Meet Valentina. A Columbiana who restores classic cars. She was very happy with a Liv body. She might be Nadia's next girlfriend, we'll see how they vibe.

Next is Zarrin Chen, stepdaughter of Mama Fear. She is a party promoter so basically is a full time party girl. She is always on the phone or on her laptop (and is my excuse to get a doll ipad).

And let's talk about my other projects:

Mama Fear. This is my first attempt at wrinkles! Not too shabby. But man her eyebrows need help! And her mouth. We have to do something about that smile. I'm also working on changing her eye color. This is after a layer or two of brown. When I get a bit more practice, we'll try to make her eyes a bit less optimistic.

Bamboo for Mistress Ava. Not perfect, but I'm happy with it for now (read: I have no energy to go through more BS with this thing). I might add some sand at the bottom or go fishing in our creek for smaller pebbles.

Other things in progress: the sidewalk. It's too dark and I haven't done my black wash over it yet, so I have to lighten it up and then blacken it. Then add some grime and weeds and cracks and splotches and stuff. It's been kind of fun and kind of frustrating.

Same with my park area. My attempt to make hedges was great but using twigs to hold it into my styrofoam base is...challenging. I'll try again tonight and see what happens.

Okay okay enough of my rambling. Let's visit outer space.

["Alurium Vaccarra" written in mysterious alien language (or braille, whatever) along the bottom]

"Hi, I'm Nymeria" [my first repaint! So excited!]

"Welcome to the Alurium Vacarra." [made entirely out of found or donated materials]

"Here we have the main control panel" [packing styrofoam, mini picture frame, pins, glass tile with cut out from a blue plastic folder, some silver knob thing that I found in my junk box, pieces from an old Palm Pilot]

"This panel here controls my comfort. Temperature, nutrition, etc."

"My maker said something about making me some clothes but really that's just a silly human thing."

"This is where I eat and keep my trinkets collected from around the galaxy. I like to travel."

"You're looking at me through the window."

"This is my chair for chillin'." [bean bag flinger toy plus yoyo base]

"Unlike you full humans, I don't need sleep, but I do recharge in my relaxation chamber. With my headpiece, I stay connected to the ship." [tube came with a 1/6th skeleton model. Headpiece is a piece of spiral notebook binding, attached to wires, then filled in with hot glue]

"And here we have the Stone of Amaranth. It is helping to power this ship. But it is so powerful, I have to bring it to Earth to be kept safe from my enemies. You MIGHT hear more about that later."

Ooops, realized I didn't get a shot of the full ship. There is still some trim and stuff that needs to be added as the pieces come to me. Haven't fully raided my Dad's garage.

I attempted some dreadlocks and some mohair but neither was very pleasing. I'll keep trying. That's what this is all about!

smooches!
dani

Celery Seed, finally a useful spice

2011-11-21T12:40:00.001-05:00

You know when you get those spice racks with the spices already in it (I know, they've probably been sitting around for years but in a pinch, they do just fine), there are always spices that you never use.

Celery Seed? What would I even put it in? What does it taste like? Well I'll never know until they feature it on Iron Chef or similar. But following Amithi's advice, I did some experimenting with Nymeria, my alien.

I was going to save this for the big reveal but I'm no good at keeping my own secrets.

So after two coats of this, I mixed some paint, a few shades darker than Nymeria's skin and gave it a couple of good thick coats. I think I'll use the same shade (watered down) for her lips.

Here's what I accomplished so far:

Finished the Alurium Vaccarra. I think. I mean, will I ever be finished?
Removed all of Sugar's hair only to find that my mohair does not behave like I thought. I may have to attach the hair to a piece of cloth or fabric tape and glue the cloth to the head. The front will be rooted.
Cut all the sidewalks out of foam core. Little Iris will be very happy to help me paint them.
Cut out the foam that will be my flagstone patio. Very nervous about this project. Lots of mess coming.
Cut the bamboo chair which will be my bamboo plants. Now to find tiny rocks...
Took out my experimental Barbie (below). She is the victim of all experiments. I gave her a layered cut I read about, she was the first to lose all her face paint. I'll probably glue her smile shut, etc. I painted her lips and eyes the way Nymeria will look. I forgot to take a picture of that...
I attempted to give Madame Marie some eyeliner and eyebrows but methinks I need more quality time with Experimental Barbie.
Finally learned that the secret of painting plastic with acrylic paint without streaks is watering it down. Or stop being a cheapo and just go get more spray paint.

smooches!
dani

Selfish Blog Post

2011-11-18T10:01:00.001-05:00

Do you ever have a blog post that is totally selfish? Where you know you are really just talking to yourself? I have these often. Like every time I say I'm going on hiatus or here is my list of goals or whatever. Maybe it's a sign of insanity but an old boyfriend once told me that talking to oneself is a great organization tool.

Well my friends, next week I have all but one day off work. You've seen what I can accomplish with 2 hours of solitude as long as I'm organized!

I've hit another snag with Nymeria the alien. I bought some lovely wool that was billed as "mohair" I dunno what this crap is. Maybe it was mohair once upon a time, but no longer. It's sort of like using cotton balls as hair and just as easy to comb. It has quickly degraded into a ratty mess.

Now I'm thinking of using some blond hair I have on hand and dying it with acrylic paint (Doll University Lesson!) then rerooting her. Not sure I want regular human hair thought.

I thought of making flock but that seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Perhaps better for landscaping.

So, since I am being cheap and refuse to buy flock when birthday dinners need to be funded, I'm thinking of sculpting that cotton mess into some sort of soft-serve ice cream hair or something...

Anyway, we'll jump over that bridge later tonight.

How about some plans?

I'll try my hand at repainting Nymeria. It should be fairly simple, so we'll see how it goes...
Finish the Alurium Vaccarra, Nymeria's ship. I'm almost done. I just need to do a little paint work and it's a wrap. I'm sure the Hubs will be happy that the Poison Closet (Imagine a kitchen pantry filled with cleaning products and tools) is no longer stuffed to the gills with bins and bags of doll crap.
Airplane! Remember that project? All I needed was tiny brushes (check!) and paint markers (check!) and motivation (check-ish). This will be on-going. There's a lot to do. Poison Closet, I will be back!
If time allows, a sidewalk! Poor Remi is the hottest dude to hit Grandville and he can't even mack on babes while he's making his street art. Wrongness.
Putting together my nightclub. Nothing fancy, just a place for the cool kids to hang out.
A home for Mistress Ava. One day she'll have the big home she deserves, but for now, she needs somewhere to conduct her business and entertain.
Maybe some pictures? Not just quick ones, but some nice ones maybe taken outside. Time to step it up.
Maybe give Sugar a mohair makeover
Maybe MAKE bamboo. Quick story: so we're at this worker appreciation lunch (read: "this lunch is your raise.") The dessert cups were really cute. Someone mentions using them for seedlings. My eyes lit up. They meant for flesh humans, but you know what I thought! There were others that were tall and looked like they would be at home in Superman's fortress of solitude. Ava's taste in furniture echoes her deliciously violent profession. Her Horsman chairs remind me of leather straps one might use to bind or gag. These planters look like broken glass. Seems to me that something as modern looking as a bamboo plant is perfect for her aesthetic. Especially considering how they reference canes and caning. Anyway, I have some old faux bamboo barbie chairs take apart and paint and set in some rocks.

Here's what I won't be doing:
Rerooting Madame Marie with the dreadlocks I've been working on. I have not learned to love rerooting. I was hoping it would end up like crocheting to me. You despair at how far you have to go, then it becomes zen-like and you can do it in front of the TV easily. Not so with rooting! Okay I'll try. Bah.

Okay my loves, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving or if you're not American, may you overeat and be lazy anyway.

smooches

Losing my Cool over Stardoll

2011-11-16T10:36:00.001-05:00

My birthday is right around the corner on the 22nd. Yet my cheapskate children have not yet given me a gift. Really, like 2 years old is too young to go get a job? Slackers. Some of my favorite bloggers have been buzzing about these dolls and I can't deny the ache in my stomach. I need one. Or five. But what to choose?

Go look here if you live under a rock:
http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/index.html?story=8828586

Oooh, the accessory packs! Pant pant pant. Okay, calm down girl.

Don't tell the Hubs, but I just bought three on TRU.com. I find that pictures of these dolls pretty elusive! But we doll folks have seen them all. So, sucker for brunettes that I am, I got the two "goth" girls (duh) and the brunette Bonjour Bizou doll. Which, really? She doesn't look particularly Parisian. Just kind of a punker chick outfit with a Chanel jacket. I also want the Doll Space blonde with the Chanelesque jacket but I haven't seen her for sale. The Pretty N' Love ones are just too Barbie-ish for me! Though the African American one is adorable.

(Yes, I did go over my $40 budget but it's my birthday and since they are from my daughters, I can afford $20 of extravagance.)

If anyone wants to unload their Fallen Angel prom looking dress, let me know. I think Dani might have her bridesmaid dresses...

So I had a GREAT party last weekend. In prepartion I went through our "party box" where I keep plastic cups and stuff for gift bags and I found this:

It's for some kind of game where you fling a bean bag ball back and forth or something. But I thought "Alien chair!!"

Then we went to Publix and I found this:

Score! I wanted it for Mistress Ava's iguana but her pet is too big. Not to mention the top of this thing is glued pretty well. Maybe I'll douse it with some acetone...

In other news, I got my hair for Nymeria the alien, made a reroot tool but I find the wool I bought a little hard to work with. Good thing she's an alien. I can do whatever I want to that hair.

The spaceship, Alurium Vaccarra is almost finished. I may be able to debut it after Thanksgiving. I have almost the entire week off next week so I will be getting serious about some projects I have hanging around. Here's a quick pic of Nymeria in her new chair. I just glued it to a broken piece of a yo-yo for stability. I'm not even going to paint it. I like it the way it is. I think I'll add some control panel buttons on the lap belt. Maybe a pillow...

Okay my loves, I hope you're doing well.

smooches,
dani

What I've been up to

2011-11-10T14:28:00.000-05:00

Well my people, I said I wasn't interested in Monster High, right? I certainly don't want and can't afford get caught up on another type of doll that cannot share Barbie's clothes. But while doing a casting call for my alien girl, I decided I really couldn't use the Monsieur Z I was going to use. So glad I didn't give her an acetone wipe!

So after going to the Figurevore forum and looking around for ideas, I came up on another user who was working on a sci-fi tale. She used a Monster High Body. My girl is supposed to be half grey-type alien and half human so the silhouette is just perfect.

I told the Hubs I needed a Monster High girl for my bday (on the 22nd) but he had to choose between Lagoona, Ghoulia and Frankie. They all had the sort of color I was looking for. He came up with the perfect choice in Lagoona. She is my favorite.

So I ripped open the box 12 days early, stripped her down and before I could fall in love with those big eyes, removed all her face paint and hair. Man, that hair is glued in with some sticky muck! Anyway instead of looking scary like Barbie when she is bare-faced, she just looks like she's sleeping. Such a pretty girl, even without a face. She looks like a beautiful African sculpture. Just looking at her makes me so inspired.

Now I'm obsessed with Monster High and I'm forced to buy all of them. Several of all of them. And make them all clothes and repaint them all! But they will not be characters. They will just be repainted and styled and sold? Hey, do Clawdeen's ears come out?

Did I mention I don't know how to repaint? No matter, they have big heads (that I used to hate) so I have lots of room to practice.

This girl, Nymeria (I'm a Game of Thrones fan) will be my first.

Here are a few shots of her:

The cylinder thing will have a table top upon which the magick stone that powers the ship will rest. (through the window, those are tomatoes, bananas and a nightlight in a silver bowl. Looks alien, right?)

The control panel.

Here is my muse. She will get a reroot and a repaint soon. And I'm totally going to use cheap paint because this is a Use What You Got challenge for me and I just bought so much acetone, I'm not scared anymore.

This is taken through the window.

Okay just wanted to send an update. Still a lot of work to do on Nymeria and her ship, the Alurium Vaccarra. (That name just came to me one day, I hope I didn't steal it from somewhere...)

smooches!
dani

Sexy GILF and Spacecraft!

2011-11-01T12:17:00.002-04:00

All reroots are best handled by people other than me. Reroots, like sewing are tasks that are more fun to plan and procrastinate over than to do. This one in particular. I wanted Mama Fear to have a mix of black and silver hair and I just knew I wasn't capable of making that look pretty.

So I sent her off to Cat at A Doll Affinity. Have you been to her blog? She does the best photostory videos. And her rerooting service is a bargain! Cat did an amazing job! In fact, I have to rethink Mama Fear. She's just so pretty. The Hubs calls her a MILF. I guess GILF is more like it.

I hate that I have to cut this hair to give her a proper bun, which she will have forever. Maybe I'll take my time, maybe do a back story or something...(by the way, I'm the one who jacked up her thatched part because I was playing with it too much trying to figure out her bun).

Also, excuse the crazy eyes. I dabbed a little liquid liner to see if I could even out the light reflection in her eyes without doing a big repaint.

No matter what angle you work her hair, there are some awesome streaks that show.

She's sitting on a shelf at home right now. I've made her a bed and I'm working on making a little Buddhist altar. I hate to break it to one of my dolls but they're going to have to find somewhere new to live. I'm looking at you Momoko. You don't want to cross Mama Fear.

Oh so I finally found a good handle for the human spine cane but the cane itself is looking a bit bulky. She seems more like the type to use an elegant little cane. Maybe that will be her 'hanging around the house' cane that she uses to intimidate her family. The outside cane will be something like skinny bamboo so she could easily whip you if you look at her funny.

Work on my spaceship is going really well. Okay it WAS going well. Actually I'm really proud of it. There is freedom in doing something of this nature. You can just say, "But that's what it's LIKE on her planet!"

And to be this close to finishing a project? It's a great feeling. Airplane, you are next!

I did a lot more since these pics, but this will give you an idea of where I'm heading.

That silver gray foam in the middle is gone now.

Sigh, this is where I messed up. I was supposed to use only items around the house, so I used corrugated cardboard. Seemed okay at first. Then I went ahead and bought posterboard to cover it, rather than contact paper which would show the little stripes in the cardboard.

Then I covered the posterboard in contact paper. Yeesh. It ended up being so stiff, when I tried to curve it around again, it buckled and bubbled. Ugh. I'll be trying it again tonight with just poster board. Maybe contact paper too, I dunno.

That black cup thingy is from a pool table that my landlord had. (I love when old landlords leave junk in the house. Not being sarcastic either!)

But I think it takes up all the space in the top area of the rocket ship, so instead we found another use for it. I hesitate to give more info. I've had more original ideas for this thing than for any doll work in the last couple of years! I credit the Hubs too. He's a nerd so any spaceship/alien question I have, I can pull from this reservoir of geeky info. No offense, geeks are awesome. I can't wait to show it to you. Well at least the major progress. I'm sure I'll still be collecting wires and doodads for a long time..

Okay folks, that's all for now!

Smooches,
dani

Mama Fear's Personality Inspiration

2011-10-27T09:42:00.001-04:00

Mama Fear has just returned from getting rerooted (pictures to come). Ya'll know she's gonna be mean and all. I was going to make her sort of old-lady frumpy but this storybook villainess has made me change my mind. Mama Fear might be a fashion icon modeled after Ms. Iris Apfel.

This article was inspiring. Dang, she's mean. Like only an old lady can be. Plus Mama Fear's new hair is too beautiful to be hidden in a updo all the time.

You Knew I Wasn't Going Anywhere

2011-10-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

Okay well I guess my third hiatus is a failure as well. Let's just say I'll post when I can, when I have something to report. The Hubs is taking both the girls out tomorrow so I can finally start constructing my space ship. What space ship, you say?

Well, the Hubs had this awesome wooden 60's light fixture and why he let me have this beautiful thing, I do not know, but I thought it would make a great space ship. Then I found this outfit on Ebay and it's so weird, I had to have it for my alien lady (or time traveler, not sure yet).

Anywho, we went to Big Lots today and I hoped for a great Barbie and World Peacekeepers selection or even a good pillar candle holder to make into a table. But it was slim pickin's for folks like us. I did however get manage to get some treasures.

I don't collect Monster High, but I do enjoy looking at your pictures of them and as a whole I really like them. (Just can't get addicted to a doll that can't share clothes with the others). Anyway these speakers where too cute and just $6. Oh and those are LED tea lights if you can't see them.

The Hubs bought Spiderman 3 and it came with these tiny comic books:

They're full of tiny writing and everything! I know Ian the guy who runs the record store is going to totally dork out over these.

And I spent only about $20 for all of it including the movie. Go Year of Prosperity!

smooches

Oh Don't Look So Suprised

2011-10-19T12:37:00.001-04:00

Well, in my last post I mentioned my other obsession, overachiever housewife stuff/manic organizing. So I've been on the housewife blogs and started how to update and improve my Home Management Binder. There are templates for everything, grocery shopping lists, daily, weekly, monthly schedules, Xmas shopping list, etc.

I started working on making schedules for everyone in the house, planning menus, etc. Fun stuff.

Then I get to work and can't remember what doll thing is on order. What is the address for my trading buddy? I want to place an order on The Doll Page and I can't remember who I ordered with on Doll Divas so I can give the new person a reference. What follows is a manic search through my various email accounts.

Hmm, couldn't I use some templates to organize doll world? So I decided to create a few.

Feel free to do whatever you want with them. If you change and improve them, let me know. I just threw them together so they may need changing once they are in use. Let me know if you have any issues with them. They are Windows 7 docs so let me know me know if you can't open them. Let me know, let me know, let me know. I guess I say that a lot.

I'm excited about working with them.You know me, I've got 6 crafty projects going at once.

I may create some kind of a scheduler later. I'm working on couple of reroots, so those will be on the Doll Customization form and a couple of doll vehicle projects so that will be on the Doll Projects form, so I may need something to bring it all together. Maybe a simple calendar...We'll see.

Enjoy.

Okay back to my hiatus.

No, I'm Serious This Time

2011-10-17T10:52:00.002-04:00

Okay folks, I do say this a lot and it's not like I'm NOT building a dolly space ship right now, buuuut, I'm taking a hiatus from blogging.

It's tough adjusting to this new house and getting every room situated while small monsters just want to be under you no matter where you are.

It has just been overwhelming and I feel bad every Monday when I have nothing to show you.

Just so you know I haven't been kidnapped (well in a sense, in a sense, I have been "napped" by my kids...), I decided to give it a break until maybe the new year. Ah, now I can have some freedom from my doll obsession and spend money on Xmas vacation, endless Ikea shelves and those things you put in the back seat so your kids are entertained in the car.

Now onto my other obsession: overachiever housewife stuff (I'm not a housewife, but I love stuff like meal planning, lists and lists and lists, home organization binders, housewife blogs etc.)

smooches,
dani

Acquisitions 2010

2011-10-10T15:00:00.001-04:00

Man, I went through this blog from the announcement of Year of Luxury to now and the number of acquisitions makes me ill. And to come away feeling like I didn't get much of anything.

So here is the list. I am including gifts here too. I'm not getting into too much detail. This is depressing enough!

Smidgehouse sofa
FR Luggage
Mid Century furniture from Liz Retros
Comic Life software
Vintage Vinyl Gavin
Jonathan Adler Barbie (2)
Jonathan Adler Barbie Couch (2)
Tripod
FDQ: In Focus
Photography Lights
Digital Camera
Punk Rock Outfits
Barbie Basics Accessory Pack
Dusty (CZ girl)
Mattel Wooden Bed
World Peacekeeper guy
Dragon Body
Man head for Dragon body (haven't even revealed this character!)
Brunette Ken (aka: Douchebag Ken, aka Gypsy Ken, aka June that transsexual)
3 Camels
Small plastic farm, animals
Momoko doll
Coney Island Poppy
Pop Life Dolls (5) They were on sale!
Lighthouse
Mr. Z First class
Harley Davidson couple
Mr. Z Fly Girl
Barbie Airplane
Domain name
Artsy Fashionista
Barbie Basics AA Ken
Dynamite Boy Remi
Doll hair, paint, brushes for repaints
Barbie Washer/Dryer
Comme ca du Mao Susie
Barbie house, clothes, obitsu bodies (in trade)
Body for Felix
Coffee Table, plastic
Coffee Table, wood
Wooden Shelf
Dani's couch
Dani's "leather" chair (now it's Josephine's)
Doll house store stuff: plants, shelf, little doodads
Handcuffs
Mademoiselle Marie
Jack Sparrow Barbie
Barbie loves Elvis
Sinatra Barbie
Girls in the City Rement set
Wool Roving
Barbie Basics Blonde
Lt. Sulu doll
OSS sock monkey hat
LIV patio set

I think that's it. I'm sure more are on their way (about to order that Barbie fold up house with the red door and the orange washer dryer...)

I vow that during the Year of Prosperity to really choose my purchases more wisely. I could have bought a lot more LIV dolls and had articulated bodies, great clothes and traded the heads. I need to spend more on craft supplies and more time working on photography. Better furniture and less plastic!

But with Barbies working on this Star Doll thing....(I had no idea these were available yet...) I see them all over ebay but not on Barbie.com or Amazon....Hmmm.

Really when you see it typed, that list isn't so bad.

The End of the Spendthrift

2011-10-03T15:19:00.000-04:00

Well my friends, Year of Luxury is coming to a close. Year of Prosperity shall begin soon. This year has been so about buying that I nearly forgot what I did before! So let me tell you what new topics will be discussed here since it won't be Acquisitions!

The Cheapskate:

I'm going to make it my mission to find doll deals wherever I can. If I can't buy it for $40 or cheaper, I will not get it. Unless it's really really really good. Hee!

Seamstressing and all that:
Did I tell you that my mom said I would inherit her sewing room? This is what happens when you're the family artist, not that I'm complaining. It's an honor. I come from a long line of seamstresses but as someone who has little spacial reasoning, I'm not sure how well I'll do at this. But anyway, I'll be sewing instead of buying (many) doll clothes.

Design Inspiration:
Let's make a list of all the things I was supposed to build or decorate: Holly Golightly's apartment, The Airplane, Lighthouse, fairy tale cottage, Evelyn's Condo. Are any of these complete? No! But I love thinking of new things to do and researching inspiration so there will be posts about things I want to do or things that would look neat in doll world and how I would do it and what products are out there to help. Then maybe someone else will do it and I can just enjoy looking at it.

Photography:
I have been meaning to get back to photostories but what is more important is working on my photography skills. No point in telling a story if everyone's blurry.

Sales!
In meeting trading buddies this year I have realized that my trash is someone's treasure. So I'm selling off all the stuff I don't use. I set up a Doll Page but I'll probably start using Ebay and maybe Etsy if I'm allowed to call it "vintage" or whatever the rules are. It's the Year of Prosperity, I gotta get off my butt and make it happen.

So that is what is on the horizon for Vita Plastica during the Year of Prosperity.

Now to do a recap the Year of Luxury post. A lot of people do the Best Purchases of 2010 type of blog posts. This will be like that. That and selfishly daydreaming about the time I could afford dolls. What I will not do is calculate what I have spent. That will just hurt my feelings!

Grandville Comes Together (LOTSA PICTURES!)

2011-10-03T10:26:00.002-04:00

I'd been feeling kind of down lately. As you can tell by my blog, I just have no time to be in my doll room now. It's upstairs and usually me and the kids are downstairs and when I do set them up upstairs, they want to be in the doll room with me too. And little crawling Isobel has a knack for finding the most dangerous thing in the room and putting it in her mouth.

But I got my mother to babysit the kids all day so the Hubs and I could enjoy our respective hobbies. He cleaned the house (sucker) and I hung out in the doll room.

The plan was to make my cobblestone street for an upcoming photo project. There were a few different way to do this:

1. Get a big piece of foam and carve out the cobbles. I tried this with some foam core. Um, no.

2. Make a stamp out of clay or something and stamp out the cobblestones.

3. Roll out some clay and carve the cobblestones

4. Make individual stones out of clay

5. Visit hobby shop and hope for something that will pass for 1/6th scale.

6. Buy/print a cobblestone pattern on paper.

7. Photoshop.

I gave up after #1. This project was going to take some time. I'm considering photographing everything with a white background and photoshopping everything in. Though my results are not perfect, I do enjoy Photoshop.

A day free of children seemed like a great time to work on Dani and Felix's house. After attempting to cover their walls with contact paper, I realized it's just not going to stick. The Hubs convinced me to put that piece of junk on the curb. Deal! Dani and Felix are now in temporary housing. Welp, better than staying with Ms. Fear!

Anywho I thought the day would best be spend fixing up everyone house. Then my room would fill me with happiness when I walk into it instead of stress.

So, BEFORE:

And After: Ahhhhh

I wanted all the shelves right up against each other so I can incorporate a sidewalk at some point.

Ian back at the record store.

Remi gets caught tagging a wall by Yet to be Named Monsieur Z gal.

DJ Nadia set up shop above her record store. (unfinished)

Hanna now has her own place. Was going to be a gallery but turned in to a studio and small living space. She's MIA because her hair got wrecked in the move and she needs to visit the Cooktop Salon.

Josephine's house. The good thing about losing Dani's place is that Josephine inherited that leather seat that looks great here. Seen here with the beginnings of the NeoSoul Beatniks. That Nikki turned out to be a real primadonna! So unlike her little brother Remi.

Just like in France, Gypsies get the shaft. Sorry guys, next time. Our neighbor moved and gave us this great little credenza thing. Perfect for me.

I took the opportunity to do some redecorating. Sooki loses the desk and gets a shelf. Like she does homework anyway. Ms. Fear gets a "window" treatment my mom made. Still working on Momoko. I just don't know how a drug dealer would decorate. I think of either really tacky nouveau riche stuff or super slick modern. But she's neither of those people...

The lower two cubes are the temporary living spaces for Dani and Felix.

Outside of the Apartment building will be a little park. This is just a mock up.

The Fetish crowd hanging out in Mistress Ava's loft. I have plans for her home but this is a temporary space.

Yeah the closet is still a mess.

Found this little cabana at Walmart for $7. Nice.

YOINK! Iris is making plans for this toy. I'll probably give her the chair. I've tried to share more with her...

This is her face looking at the doll homes.

Dani and Felix are taking advantage of the solitude by chilling in their PJs. "Hmmphf, I don't know how I'm going to live without a bathroom or bedroom but whatever."

Actually this kitchen is way roomier.

I glue everything down, now to mount it on the wall again.

Ooops, my toaster oven is about to tumble.

Sooki is really enjoying her room. Remember when Dynamite Girls were like $40? Doesn't seem so long ago...

Thanks for playing!

smooches,
dani

Man, Dig This Crazy Pad!

2011-09-27T13:17:00.000-04:00

So I'm listening to The Beat Generation box set, which includes poetry readings, interviews and bop jazz from that era. There's a song called Kookie's Mad Pad:

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;dcc&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Can you dig it? I knew that you could.

Anyway, this got me thinking about Holly Golightly's party and her apartment. I thought about recreating it for dolls and found this blogpost! I was so excited. It mentions lots of little details and things I had forgotten.

Then I started thinking about those Holly Golightly dolls they came out with. I know she's not Audrey Hepburn but I'm not thrilled about that price tag. Or her weird, close-set eyes. There is the Audrey Barbie which is a pretty good likeness...One more indulgence for Year of Luxury?

Remember MaryAnn Roy's Barbara Novak (Down with Love) apartment? I've always been a fan of it and when you really look at it, it's pretty simple. Well, okay not the couch, but still!

Okay I know I have pressing matters to take care of. But my mom agreed to babysit the kids for a full day this weekend and I'm not wasting a single minute of it. I will unpack all the doll homes, work with any noxious chemicals I need to.

Then I'm giving myself permission to start a new project without finishing any of the old ones. Remember the airplane? The lighthouse? Ooops. And I do owe Mistress Ava a home...

Onto other subjects:

My mom came over this weekend for a formal sewing lesson. We practically finished a doll dress! I wish I wasn't using scrap fabric.

QUESTION: My mom kept saying that because of the size I'll be hand-sewing most of the stuff, not using the machine. What do you think? Do you use your sewing machine for doll clothes?

ANOTHER QUESTION: Corsetkitten mentioned that since I added that Facebook badge, my blog looks a little weird. Does it look different to you? I darkened the font but it doesn't seem to have made a difference on her end...

smooches,
dani

Do You Like Me? I Like You

2011-09-23T15:59:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone.

I removed the Vita Plastica facebook page and created a new page that isn't a "friend" page, if you know what I mean.

So if you've friended me on Facebook, please go "like" the new "Vita Plastica" page. I promise I will fill it with pictures and stuff.

Maybe I'll post things that are too short for a blog post, like angry rants on why Mattel doesn't do this or that.

So here I am

Please come show me some love!

smooches,
dani

The Vita Plastica Intern and a Million Other Things

2011-09-20T13:04:00.000-04:00

Allow me to present, Maia, the Vita Plastica intern. That is the glorified title for my niece who volunteered to help with my unpacking and reorganizing.

Maia has been an important part of my doll collecting. Over the last decade or so I'd get sick of my dolls and donate them all to her. I did this at least 2 or 3 times. Well when she grew out of them a few years ago, I got everything back plus her stuff which was awesome! Boxes and boxes of stuff!

Now Maia is 13 and though she doesn't play with dolls she's still really interested in what we adults do with our dolls. Last Christmas when I asked what she wanted she requested a subscription to FDQ. One day she will be like us. Until then, I will force her into free labor.

So anyway, she unpacked all the dolls. It was way too brief. But the 1:1 house needed work too. But in a few weeks she will help me build Gypsy Park. It was going to be a little park in the corner on the floor. But Iris has shown too much interest in my caravan, so I'm not sure...

There was a poster sale here on campus so I got a few. Times Square:

Pre- 9/11 skyline

I think this is Hong Kong.

The closet is a bit more organized though I'm not sure you can tell...

I feel sorry for anyone I have made purchase with since the move. They will not get a proper review until I have some time and space. But here goes. See the awesome shelf in the blue room? That's from BuildingIdea on etsy that I keep telling you about. They just added loads of stuff. Check it out.

The dolls, unpacked and unorganized.

Dani and Felix are so happy to be back together.They were packed separately. "Do you see what that mortal did to my bangs? She can't pack worth a damn."

"Ah, my hair survived! Now where's that Remi I've heard about?"

I just got this chair from Horsman for Mistress Ava. I liked the way the leather straps suggested bondage. But it is not scaled very well. It's really big. I'm glad I didn't get two. But Ava likes it enough. Also, I missed dealing with a real person. Horsman does not care if I like it or not. No feedback, no new doll friend.

I also ordered this adorable sock monkey hat from Dawn at One Sixth Sense. It's such great quality. She's an amazing repaint artist too. One day I'll be able to afford one...

What else? Yeah so I saw a very simple shift dress for dolls and it was friggin $65! Ridiculous. So I called my seamstress mother and told her I need to work on dolls clothes. Not that I'm planning on selling (for now) but at least for clothing my peeps. So she tells me her job gave her a sewing machine for her retirement and she's giving it to me. Buying my mom a sewing machine is like someone random buying me a doll. You're inevitably going to get it wrong and buy a lower end of what I really want. She's got the factory model sewing machine, a little portable one is not going to do anything for her. But it will do a lot for me!

She also told me I will inherit her sewing room (well, the contents) since no one else is interested in carrying on the family trade. (Honestly I'm not too interested either but hey maybe I'll learn to like it. Just look at how productive Corset Kitten has been).

Okay I think that's it for now. I'm getting closer folks! Soon there will be real photos and photostories and more Dolly University!

smooches,
dani

Celebrity Repaint Assistance!

2011-09-16T09:48:00.003-04:00

You know, about a year ago, I decided I would do a recurring segment about my Favorite things. It never occurred again. I tend to curse myself when I say I'm going to do something on a weekly basis. So I'm not even going to pretend that I'm going to do this again, though I do have the best intentions...

There are many people out there in doll world that are deserving of praise and to be pimped. If not for Smidgehouse many of you wouldn't be here reading this. So today I'm going to tell you about my doll friends, starting with Angela!

We met several months ago on the Doll Divas board. She was looking for a Barbie head and I happened to have it. It started a great trading friendship. As we began to talk she told me about her skill in matching doll sculpts with human faces.

I mentioned 100 years ago wanted to repaint a Poppy Parker for my daughter since she has that signature pout. I mentioned this to Angela and she did some research and found several other molds that would be even better! Then we started talking about celebs and I began to realize this woman has an incredible eye! Does she go around looking at people and imagining them as dolls? (Answer: Yes basically) She has a way of breaking down facial features and structures that never ceases to amaze me. And you can tell she really loves it. Nothing like when a doll person finds their niche.

So if you are looking for a doll to repaint in a celeb's image or your own or a loved ones, please check out her website here: http://facesculptfinder.com/

She also tailors her searches for your skill set. If you can't repaint at all she can find you the right match. Just check out the pics on her front page. And don't miss her blog!

The Year of...

2011-09-15T10:04:00.001-04:00

Okay if you follow this blog, you know I don't make New Year's resolutions, I name my year. I give it a name that will encompass all the goals I have for myself.

This year was the Year of Luxury. I bought many things for me and my dolls but as it turns out, I kept buying dolls which I was not supposed to do...But at least they were mostly Barbie. Man I thought I bought stuff this year but there's so much more I want and need. Always so much more.

The fetish girls need chairs ($65 each from Horsman), Penny needs an older sister to help her through her teen alcoholism (Downtown Darling Jett), everyone needs clothes, and there are several independent doll crafters out there that I want to support, (I'm looking at you Vanessa) but haven't gotten to for one reason or another.

Anyway in 2012, I really need to concentrate on buying a house. A 1:1 house that is. I have to keep my goal in mind even though I'm totally bummed about not being able to buy this or that thing that I stumble upon. I'm going to have to do what my boss does and put myself on an allowance. Get myself a $100 gift card and make it last for months.

Weep! *shaking, rocking, hugging my knees*

But this can be good. I will spend this time taking all sorts of pictures. I will make doll clothes. I will do reroots and repaints. Isobel (daughter #2) is crawling like a mad person and putting everything in her mouth so it is time to get all the little things out of the way.

Instead of loitering all over the boards, I will be posting pictures on all the boards! I will go through my items and start SELLING. I will focus on the work of Dolly University and not buying more crap to customize. Well...not too much stuff anyway.

So the 2012 will be *drumroll* The Year of Prosperity!

I will be making money from my doll accessory sales. Maybe I'll get a new job or a second job. It was going to be Year of Frugality or Year of Savings, but that does not sound fun or positive. This way I can save and spend too since I will be mysteriously rich.

Okay onto some luxuries that arrived yesterday.

First up, Sinatra Barbie. I really just wanted that suit and her body.

There is also the Barbie Basics gal. Meh. Her hair is awful. It feels like she used to be a brunette and bleached the heck out of it. I've had a doll with hair like that and no conditioner in the world could make it better. Also, there's a LOT of it. I mean it is super thick.

ADVICE PLEASE: how can I thin out her hair? Cut off a big chunk in the back? In the middle? Random sporadic cutting? Please help.

And the accessory pack.

Basics will be named Claudia after a character in a novel I wrote. Claudia was based on my high school friend Ricca (much cooler name). Claudia, like Ricca will be a sort of romantic goth type. For those of you unfamiliar, these are the types that love Victorian art and culture, and tend to be more of the vampire lovers. She will be a friend to Mistress Ava and perhaps a coworker. I was thinking of getting rid of my blonde Pop Life girl. Her face really bugs me. Like she's perpetually saying, "Huh?" "What?" "Duh?"

Anyway, Claudia in the suit which she does not like:

In the accessory pack. She only likes the jacket.

Oh and this is a Barbie house that I traded for. Got old crappy Barbie house that you want to trade/sell to me? Not that this is crappy, Angela my trading buddy! I really like it. Iris fell in LOOOVE with it. So it might be the house that lives in Grandeville that the kid is allowed to play with. Well she learned the word for doll house!

But what is up with Claudia? She can't pose worth a damn. Then I realize she's got bendable arms and legs, but not a bendable torso! Sinatra? Off with your head!

"Ah, now I can really move!"

Some fireplace goofiness:

I'm pretty sure you're not allow to do that at the temple, Claudia.

Oooh, this is a nice picture. Good for me. Only took 70,000 pics to get here.

Sexxxay!

But her eyes seemed a little weird to me. I have that problem with Fashion Royalty girls a lot. Wonky eyes. But she needs liquid liner in her life anyway so here's what she looks like after my application. And yes, it really is liquid liner.

Much more sultry.Okay I'm sorry it's orange, but I'm working on it!

Okay that's it for now my friends.

smooches,
dani

The Doll Room So Far

2011-09-12T09:46:00.000-04:00

I finally hung some art in the rest of the house. It never fails to make the place instantly look finished. And it basically is. Well, not the dining room. It has some hideous flowery wallpaper and I just don't know what to do in there to say, "We know it's bad, but we have to live with it for now," or "Yes we hate it and let's mock it openly." Making that place normal looking almost says, "We approve of this wallpaper and not even in an ironic way."

Okay sorry got caught up in my 1:1 decor. Here's what you really want to know about. Here's what we have so far. Though I'm sure it's not the final spot for anything. Going clockwise around the room.

On that little wing of the desk, I might make a green space for the dolls to picnic or whatever.

I really like the white backgrounds in the Expedit shelf so I think I'll stick some plain white foam core back there instead of agonizing over decorating backing panels right now.

Josephine's house is still on the floor. I really need to find something for it to sit on. Iris is already looking at it like she's wondering what to steal first.

Where the printer is sitting is going to be my area for photos. I think. I dunno, I have to rethink everything. I want a photography station by the window to take advantage of natural light, but I don't want it sitting in the middle of the floor. I dunno, I'll tackle that when I get to the photography chapter of Dolly University.

This closet is very quickly becoming a hot mess but I did have to sit the furniture somewhere until I get things settled. I'd prefer it if this closet mostly contained the crafty (read: ugly) items like sheets of foam core, paints, fabric etc.

That's it so far. I also have some goodies on the way. Sinatra Barbie (for the outfit and body, I'm trading the head) She's on sale by the way, Barbie basics 2.5, number 14 the blonde. I almost bought the brunette of that mold. I really like her nose, but I saw her on too many blogs, so held out for this one. She's going to be my romantic Victorian goth. She'll be friends with Mistress Ava and may be a new recruit into fetish working but two dolls with one profession in the small town of Grandville seems like a waste.

I also got the accessory pack that goes with 2.5

Okay I'm going to study train sets so I can spark some imagination for Grandville. I'm thinking of painting, then gluing a bunch of Barbie house facades together for a look like this:

I also need to do something for sound absorption in there. Green grass-looking rug? Hmmm.

smooches,
dani

Dream Doll Room

2011-09-06T09:03:00.007-04:00

Sorry for the teaser, I'm still all boxed up. Man, that room is big. I'm no Saucy Suiwi but it must be twice the size of the last. It's a pretty daunting task, building your dream room. When I unpack I'll find you the rough sketch I made. I'm sure the real thing will not measure up for quite a while.

You know with the popularity of Facebook and blogging, real life social issues have been replaced by electronic ones. So when my social circle (followers) decreases by one or two numbers, I'm filled with self doubt and worry. What did I do? Is it because I haven't done photostories in a zillion years? Because my photographs suck? Because I'm not interested/capable of buying every Fashion Royalty that comes out? Is it because Johnny asked me to prom and not her? Waaah!

But then I remembered that I'm a doll lover first and a blogger second. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up on this doll world. You look at other collectors and see what you don't have and can't afford. You see awesome talents that you don't have. It's easy to let it get you down instead of letting it inspire you with all the potential this hobby has for us. And how dang HAPPY it makes me just to see your doll rooms. And how sweet and supportive this community is.

I love you guys. And you totally inspire me.

So what would your dream doll room look like? I'd love for mine to look like a giant version of model train homes. You know, to look like a real town, complete with lawns and trees and stuff. Ever see Em'lia's doll room? I'd love something like that. But in the interest of my knees and sticky fingered rugrats, I'd like it elevated like train sets are.

Stephie Jo uses kitchen counters and cupboards. See it here.

It would be really fun to work on that doll world of mine. In the meantime, I'm thinking dollhouse in tables all around the room. In the future, these tables will be 6-8 inches more depth than the dollhouse. Then I'll build sidewalks and stuff. Underneath, maybe storage, a parking garage for the vehicles or whatever. I'm excited just thinking about it. My dad's a carpenter and now that we've moved he is just right down the street. It can be really simple construction I think...

What about you? What does your dream doll room look like?

I promise to be back soon with pics and stuff.

smooches

I Don't Want to Do This

2011-08-22T10:17:00.004-04:00

Sigh. I don't know if you can tell by my posts, but I'm a very open person. I don't have secrets. I don't believe in them. You take away power from a person or thing when you are open and vulnerable. But enough about all my BS that's about to come to naught when faced with the horrors of revealing my mess to you.

A few people did not want to post tours of their doll areas. Hey, we all have the right to privacy. Something so personal adds another (sometimes unwanted) dimension to your blogging, to your doll world.

And I was sooooo confident I was going to show all ya'll my messy room and stand proudly behind it. And the few who don't want anything to do with this project just gave me confidence. Maybe we all have messy doll spaces? No one will judge me.

Still, reviewing the video, I am nervous.

Listen, it's messy okay? I'm a sloppy but clean person. So the only little creatures that may pop up are Iris and Isobel (human children). And by the way my voice is all gravelly because it's morning and I haven't even had coffee yet. And I sound over it because I'm trying to get this done quickly in one take. Okay enough apologizing. Here goes:

After packing up everyone and all the furniture, I had to sort all of my junk into the proper bins:

THIS:
Into THESE:

But that's about it. Aside from random junk, everything is packed away and ready for moving.

Stay tuned for part two in which I unpack everything. Le sigh.

smooches,
dani

Tour of Your Doll World

2011-08-16T20:36:00.004-04:00

I had an idea. Vanessa from Van's Doll Treasures suggested that I do a video of my house move/doll reorganization project.

Okay I'm not a Christian or a housewife but I am a sucker for super conservative Christian stay at home mommy blogs! The ones that bake their own bread and make kefir and home school their kids? Love them!

Here's an example. This is Candy. Poor thing is always disappearing from the blogosphere because she gets really harassed and stalked. Her perfection really pisses people off. Her insane organization and natural cleaning products have changed my household for life.

Anyway if you look on the left frame she encourages the other Christian Homemaker bloggers to do a tour of their homes. I'm come from a tribe of home-lookers. We want to view homes even if we're not looking for a home. We're dreamers. So I love this feature.

So what if we do this? Not our homes but our doll spaces. Would you guys join me?

The house is not definite yet (it is in my heart), but even WHEN everything goes through it won't be for another 2 weeks. I'll do a post then and ask you to do it as well. I think I'll do a Before and an After. I'll show you how I *cough* organize my doll world. Hey look, I said I love to organize. I didn't tell you I had the capacity to STAY organized. Because I don't.

So whaddya think? Will you be joining me? Will you give me permission to put the link on my blog like Candy?

A Hiatus, Sort of

2011-08-15T09:31:00.009-04:00

My dear faithful followers *I stand poised at my grand balcony, doing my best Eva Peron wave*

Vita Plastica is going on hiatus! We found a lovely (1:1) house and I've got to pack up all my little friends and their homes. We're moving on to something bigger and better so just you wait and see what Grandville will have to offer. (Mostly to me, but it will offer stuff to you too!)

When I was in 8th grade, I went with my aunt to buy some wine (I stayed in the car) and I saw my French teacher, no doubt buying some excellent vintage. I was stunned. Sure I know teachers are people. But some part of me was shaken to see her outside of school. Like, she exists outside of the school compartment of my brain?

Anyway that's how I feel whenever you guys have a non-doll post. Like, they exist outside of doll world? In fact, the 3 year old in me wonders if you all are not made of vinyl and resin. And here I am being a real flesh person.

But this hiatus is only about doll related craft work. I'll still be here checking out your blogs, hanging out on the forums, etc. Now I'll have a little time to sort through the photos I take here and there. Maybe I can string them into the story that runs in my head.

Anyway, moving to me fills me with the same feeling I get when I buy a new doll or at Christmas. I get to pack and organize, then I go to a new home and open boxes of presents. Okay so they're boxes of my own stuff, but I like my stuff!

Well, off to obsess about the perfect move. I live to organize, so this should be fun!

smooches!

Ms. Fear's New Hair

2011-08-11T10:42:00.000-04:00

Presenting: My second reroot! Considerably easier and faster than the last. I'm already working on my next.

Ms. Fear's new hair!

Sexy, right? I still have to style her. A little trim, a thatched part and maybe I'll give her bangs again. Homegirl has a fivehead.

Yeah so in an excited fit of acetone removal, I took off most of her blue shadow but also an bit of her eyebrows. Sorry Atsumi! They'll be back and even better. I just want to keep that angry angle.

So I have to reroot my Poppy Parker, Miss Fear's Mom and Sugar (decided against dreadlocks for her. Just going to have big wild mohair hair. The locks will be another doll's head.)

But in between all these reroots, Dani and Felix get a home renovation!

Before:

Now:

I can't wait to get to work on this. I'm still glued to HGTV but I'm thinking of a neutral color for the downstairs since it's all open now. Maybe a gray. Or maybe that blue I have upstairs. Adding crown molding, maybe base molding. Okay I still have no flippin' idea. Just has to coordinate with my couch.

Thanks all for now kittens. Let's see what I can manage to do this weekend.

smooches,
dani

My Goodies!

2011-08-08T09:36:00.001-04:00

It was a very successful mail weekend for me. Here are some pics, but first: Okay so year of luxury is coming to a close. The new year will begin October 31st. I wanted it to be called like Year of Thrift or similar, but it's better to have positive associations, so it might be the Year of Making Money or something. Anyway it's all about saving for a house. But what of my doll collecting?

Well, next year will focus on photography, interior decor, doll customization and the like. I WILL resist new dolls. I was talking to my boss about this. She is a cake maker, you know the Ace of Cakes type that makes your cake look like a purse or whatever. To make sure she doesn't have a massive cake accessories binge, she buys herself a gift card. And that is her budget for the month or whatever. I think this is a great idea. So I'll put some money on a gift card and it might be 4 Barbies or one Fashion Royalty but when it's gone, it's gone.

Until then, let us enjoy the binge:

Oooh la la. Voici, Mademoiselle Marie est la! Comes with three outfits plus a nice camel trench coat, bag, scarf, 2 berets, boots, scarf, phone thing with Morse code thingy.

Her face mold is nice. Her eyes look friggin' crazy. I mean, can a gal have some eyelashes? Nice lips though. Also, her chest is sort of rubbery. It's weird. I'm pretty sure I'm scrapping her body for parts. I might make her someone's mother later or something.

June looks rather fetching in her sweater:

"I have been expecting you." Seriously, as soon as I laid out Carmen's cards, ending with the King of Swords, here comes the mail carrier with this sworded fellow. His shirt and pants are one piece. I think I'll be cutting that up in the future...

Anyway they bonded really well. I removed his little red cross scar, his soul patch (and a bit of his lip. oops). Thinking about removing the beard but that might make his obnoxious goatee look weird, which I will be cutting off.

Got my coffee table and leather armchair too. I love the Building Idea folks. They're on vacation, but they'll be back... The leather chair is sturdy heavy and really well made. The coffee table has a beautiful glaze and it's the perfect size. Felix is feeling under the weather. Maybe having some problems adjusting to the new body?

Alisha below has a new body. It's a Swappin' Styles body unfortunately, but you can't really tell where all the seams are thankfully. Hanna is telling her about her friend Remi who is moving to Grandville soon. Or maybe complaining that her bangs are STILL not right. Don't worry Hanna. Me and my buddy Elmer's are on the case.

That's all I have to report. I'm still working on Ms. Fear's reroot, then I have two more right behind it. Advice, don't give your dolls baldies until you're ready to reroot. I have Mrs. Fear and Poppy Parker, and dreadlocks to make (oh, got my wool roving too). It's never ending. But hey, it's Dolly University right? Gotta do my school work!

smooches,
dani

Dolls: Our Favorite Drug

2011-08-05T09:44:00.010-04:00

I'm feeling really weird lately. Like overly giddy and tummy full of butterflies. I'm talking too much. I have endless energy one minute, then I get so sleepy I can't keep my eyes open. I feel like I'm in love. Or I'm on drugs. I have to stop myself sometimes and remember why I'm so excited. It's because doll things are in the mail! Every day, walking home from the bus (I hate driving, and only do it in emergencies), I am full of hope and anxiety.

Fridays are the worst. I'm still in my routine and if I don't get my doll package today I'm sure I won't get it until the following week. Yes I know there's Saturday but I'm usually too preoccupied with dolls and kiddies to stalk the mail carrier. If something arrives, it's a wonderful surprise.

Things have been tough for dolls at home. I have received three items in the mail and they haven't gotten any attention because of certain tiny females who have the nerve to want to like eat and stuff. Selfish!

But I promise, this weekend I'm going to take some pictures of said goodies. Wanna hear what's coming and what's arrived? Okay I went a little nuts but it's the Year of Luxury and I came into a little mula. Responsibility be damned!

Rement Girls in the City I've been dying for this forever. But it's so noisy and a crazy choking hazard so I don't have much of a chance to play with it.

Mademoiselle Marie The character is the enemy of the Miss Fear character but I think in Grandville, they might be besties. But I really bought her for the awesome outfits which did not disappoint. June, my transsexual is very happy.

Barbie Loves Elvis: Lemme just say right now, I do not like Elvis. I can admit the campy value of his later years, the rockabilly fun of his early years and his attractiveness. But I do not care for Elvis at all. Maybe it's because of the quote (that I heard later was not true, but I dunno) "The only thing a black man can do for me is shine my shoes and buy my records." And write your music. Whatever. Maybe it's because this is just part of Americana that I just abhor (like 4th of July, Las Vegas and country music) Anyway got it for a trading buddy of mine because she wants the head. I want the body and hey maybe that outfit will work when separated.

What's still on its way:

Wool Roving! I gave up on my mohair dreadlocks for now. I'm going to follow Corset Kitten's tutorial to the letter so I can get better results.

Skeleton: Ever read Shark Dialogues? Well Pono, the main character, a Hawaiian kahuna (seer) met a bad man. When he was killed, she took a little trophy. His spine, which she turned into a cane. Thought this would be an amazing accessory for Mrs. Fear (my new Susie). I hear this skeleton is perfectly to scale.

Chair and Coffee Table: I love these guys. Svetlana is a pleasure to work with. These are for Dani's home which is getting entirely reworked. When I'm done with Ms. and Mrs. Fear.

Artsy Fashionista- One of my girls is need of her body, so I bought her. Man that outfit is bad. Dear Mattel, please just sell nude pivotal bodies.

And zee piece de resistance! Okay I don't like getting a doll that everyone has. This is what bothers me about Fashion Royalty and what I love about the action figure folks. I want to believe our plastic people are unique and real. Not just fashion model clones of each other. This is another reason to learn to repaint.

Buuuut, I couldn't resist this one. Carmen the gypsy needs a man! I mangled her hair trying to straighten it, I took her man away (June), I took her home away (the caravan, now in storage) and I took her body (her loss is Simi's gain). So I owe her big time. And here he is:

Yeah, everybody and their mama has this doll but it's with good reason. It won't take much to gypsy him up and I'll happily find a home for all his accessories.

Oh wait, oh my god, I totally forgot the best score!
Woohoo! I've been looking for this guy, got hornswaggled by ebay, almost gave up and boom, got him through one of the doll boards and didn't go over $100! Woohoo!!! He is a graffiti artist, friend of Hanna and will be romantically involved with at least two of my gals. I'm so excited. Now if I can only get the Hubs to part with some of his graffiti doll spray cans....

That's all folks. Ah, it was good to talk that out. I feel much more sane now.

smooches,
dani

Fairly Useless Weekend but Long Post!

2011-08-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

Have a seat, this will take a while.

Well, it was not an entirely useless weekend, just full of false starts. I did get two packages on Saturday, one with doll hair in silver, brown and black, a little chalk for blush, bottle of sealant, one of acetone and two common colors to be used in my face-ups, brown and black.

And from etsy, a couch I had been daydreaming about for a couple of weeks. This one belongs to Felix and Dani. All the couch cushions come off! Love it! I also had the creators work on a custom coffee table for me. Great prices and really great to work with. Check out their stuff!

Now I have to decorate Felix and Dani's living room around it. Hell, I'll redo the whole house.

I decided to attempt the dreadlocks that Corset Kitten was kind enough to write a tutorial abou t.

Yeah, okay so problem #1 that I decided to ignore: I don't have wool roving. But I thought, hey mohair is wool right, so I'm sure it's the same thing. Um, no.

So I'm using the soap and the water, burning off my handprints with the friction and then I realize the minute my locks dry, they're mostly not matting.

Fudge! So the Hubs suggests hair gel, but it's so bad in so many ways and definitely not locking.

Then I decide to try the water and glue mixture I keep around for papier mache. It's okay. Then I decide to add soap to the mix. Soap seems to help aid in keeping my hands from catching fire and the glue does little but keep the hair frozen. And make it terribly stiff:

But they look pretty good so I'm not complaining. I do plan on making more, so I'll definitely get the right materials next time.

You know, you may fail a lot by using the cheap, available or downright WRONG materials, but you learn a lot as well. I still love Crayola paint and wish there was room for it in doll world.

So I also painted Ms. Fear's coffee table white, as my base but it's already chipping from where I put it back together. Le sigh.

Okay and more about using what I have on hand instead of shopping. I really wanted a new bod for Alisha NOW. (By the way did I mention she's named after Alisha from Misfits that British super hero show? If you haven't seen it and you like super heroes and realism, please do.)

This is Alisha. Lovely girl. Worst power ever. If she touches you, you have uncontrollable desire to rape her. Yikes. But you'll see on the show everyone's power has something to do with what they most desire. Great show. But I digress.

Anyway, my Alisha is a SIS and needs a new body. I've been told that Artistic Fashionista matches her perfectly but I want one NOW.

So what do we have in the unused doll bin? Riveting Premier Isha and Monsieur Z Cool it. That might work.

Isha bod (had originally wanted Isha to swap bods with a Dynamite girl but that failed too.)

Monsieur Z bod:

I guess it's not obvious from the pic but both were fails. Boo.

So it's just you and me and loads of black hair, Ms Fear:

However, I think I got saran hair this time, to try something new and it doesn't separate as easily as nylon so my plugs are so many different sizes. But whatever. Oooh I used some acetone and got rid of that eyeshadow (and most of one eyebrow.More on that in the coming weeks)

But other good news that I forgot!!!

Miss Fear was created by Hasbro and they did another female doll at the time, Mademoiselle Marie! I saw she was on sale and got her for a steal. At first I was just thinking Ms. Fear and June just got new clothes, but there is something endearing about Mme. Marie. Maybe Lady Fear will get a new bestie? Or maybe I'll harvest her body for parts. But no more Fear relatives. They are taking over. Well, we're still going to meet Dani's father one day but he's not really a 'Fear' per se.

What else? So I thought I'd take some pics to see if anything is going to come of Mistress Ava and Sugar. Meh. (With the new FR body and Kyori's platforms, this is the height difference!) Yeah I think it was a friendship or business relationship with some fun flirtation but no romance. Later Sugar ended up in bed with African American Barbie Basics Ken!

One more thing. Penny Strauss. Don't remember her because she's just Sooki's sidekick with no personality of her own? This is her:

Well, at the club, she got hecka drunk again and went home with morally bankrupt Zeke (by the way, yes his broke down pompadour will be tended to soon):

Penny, why are you drunk every time I see you? Look back there, Sooki doesn't even notice anymore. I'm going to spend some time with Penny to work out her issues.

Meanwhile, enjoy more Mistress Ava:

Watch out Aragorn, my Acetone is coming for that beard! Hipster goatee anyone?

smooches

Destiny, Thy Name is Grandville

2011-07-29T10:20:00.004-04:00

Okay I promise no more random thought blog posts. But I am a big believer in destiny and signs so I'm sharing this one. And no one on my human Facebook cares. And I don't post to my doll FB like I should.

I was looking in the various Grandvilles for signage (thanks Corset Kitten) when I came across Cons-la-Grandville, France which is near the borders with Belgium and Germany.

Signs:

1. The town is situated around a chateau, just like Foix, which I mentioned here last time I was looking for a name.

2. It is located in the Lorraine region where my job (Georgia Tech) has a sister school.

3. It is very close to a more urban area called Nancy, which is my sister's name.

Okay maybe I'm reaching but to me this clearly means we picked the right name. Good job, readers!

Here is the Chateau de Cons-la-Grandville.

Opportunity Dismembers But Once

2011-07-29T09:57:00.005-04:00

I just had a thought. In the tutorial I found, in order to make a centaur, I have to pop a leg off a doll. Therefore the Simi body was just telling me it wants to be a horse creature. Honestly I don't think I'd give up a posable body for a rarely used fantasy creature, so this is a blessing.

I'm already bidding on horses. I have issues.

smooches,
dani

My First Reroot

2011-07-28T13:30:00.000-04:00

Okay technically speaking I never actually announced that this was an assignment. So I'm sorry if any of you were following along. I guess I figured since I totally avoided my vehicle assignment, I might as well do something else productive.

So I'll put the details on my site http://www.vitaplastica.com/hair.html

I think by now you're familiar with June, my transsexual. She finally got her reroot completed. I even thatched a new part in her hair. Though, really, I should have painted her head first.

Okay not the most awesome reroot I've ever seen but for a my first time, I'm pretty happy.

BUT, despite myself, ever since I cut those brunette hanks off, June has been giving me a total straight guy vibe. The Hubs says it's the Harley body. Sorry June, you're not allowed to throw off my story line again.

So I pierced her ears. Now I feel better.

Dang, this gal needs some clothes! Even Ms. Fear's old top is insufficient. But Dusty's pants work out okay.

All in all I'm pretty happy with June. Now for makeup! I need to research drag queen makeup. They shading and contouring they do is insane.

I Heart Mistress Ava

2011-07-28T09:29:00.000-04:00

So I set up a club scene. Sometimes I have to set up a scene for me to solidify what is happening in my doll lives, even if I don't make it into a photostory.

This scene was supposed to set up how Sooki met Johnny Tan, who is the hottest new resident of Grandville. Skater boy, goes to the local art school. His face is painfully realistic.

Never thought I'd be a fan of molded hair, but he's got a cool style. PS: I've been meaning to talk to you about Sookie's eyelashes. I can barely get a shot of her, they're so thick and low hanging. I thought I already tried it with her, but I'm going to use boiling water to try to lift them a bit. If not, they're getting yanked.

But, you know you put the kids in a room together and all kinds of stuff starts happening. More on that in a minute.

Yesterday the set of handcuffs I ordered for Mistress Ava arrived, so I couldn't resist a picture of her with them. Bear in mind, this is something like Aragorn's dream sequence because Mistress Ava does not have handcuffs in her purse for Pete's sake. She keeps them in the car of course.

Anyway her beauty is distracting and I just took pic after pic of her. Then set up my DJ lights and did s'more!

I just love her face! She doesn't have a bad angle! But when her time comes, she's getting a new eye color. Brown? And maybe actual red lips. But otherwise she's perfection.

So then a little drama happened. You remember Mistress Ava and Sugar's flirtation? Hmm, Sugar looks a little jealous here...

Also, as I look over these shots, she looks incredibly bored. This isn't her scene, even if I try to force it. We tried short edgy hair, but it was just a rest stop on her way to getting (dread) locks, so I'll be working on her soon.

This has run a bit long and I remembered that I didn't take a good picture of the other drama going on, so I'll continue that in a few days.

Remember I was supposed to work on Ms. Fear? In my defense, new hair and face paint has not yet arrived, but I did get her a coffee table. This is the one Smidgehouse had and painted to resemble wood. I'm soooo tempted to just paint it black and be done with it. After all, Ms. Fear's couch is black. But attempting simulated wood grain is on my list of assignments (I think). I'm trying not to look at the Smidgehouse blog because I will cry, knowing it's not likely to look like that! Well, gotta try! Can't get better without practice. *she says through her tears*

smooches!

Tragedy Strikes Grandville (doll nudity)

2011-07-25T12:19:00.000-04:00

Grandville. What do you think? I've been thinking about a name for my town for ages and I didn't like anything. I didn't want to make it too serious or two jokey joke. My mom is obsessed with Ancestry.com and an ancestor of mine was named Grandville Philantrope. They had some seriously crazy names back then. Another ancestor is Sephora Severe. Very Potteresque.

Anyway, the name Grandville always tickled me. Sounds like a piano. And I guess the joke that "grand" means big in French and that the folks of Grandville are small.... And Grandville can be French or when pronounced incorrectly, it can also sound like small town America.

I think it's a keeper.

Anyway, TRAGEDY STRIKES GRANDVILLE!

Mistress Ava, local fetish worker and newcomer to Grandville was away at the Cooktop Spa to get her horns removed. She was having a dip in the Bubbling Hot Springs when TRAGEDY STRUCK!

Damn you Ashton Drake!! This incident has really showed me the inferior quality of these Ashton Drake dolls. Handling her disembodied leg, feeling the weight of it showed me how cheaply made she really is. I certainly won't be getting Acheron or the Dracula Wives. I didn't get this from Ashton Drake directly. I wonder if they'll be of any help to me. The most I'll get is another inferior body anyway.

Boo! I was so heartbroken. I checked all my bods sitting around but no one matches her pallor. The best match without losing the big bustline was my gypsy Carmen. You see how she feels about losing her body:

"First she makes my boyfriend a tranny, now this?"

Here is Simi in her new body (for now):

Not terrible in pictures, but the difference is fairly obvious in person. Oh well, I'll keep her in clothes for a while. Maybe she's one of those goth girls who wears really light powder? Maybe she wears a big hat in the sun? I guess blushing up her face might be another upcoming project...

Boo!

2011-07-22T11:35:00.003-04:00

It's a low day in doll land. I didn't win my Radiant Child Remi. I was so close and at the last minute, no, at the 5 second mark, bids flew in like crazy. I hate when sellers do that, then you see it relisted in a day or so. Well he's cute, but I'm not paying over $100 for a doll. Not ever. Well maybe when the kids are older and I can justify that noise.

Then I was about to buy the Moxie Girlz Magic Snow Cabin but I searched for pics and found this: http://dollepic.blogspot.com/2011/01/miniature-monday-16-moxie-girlz-magic.html

Okay, considering Moxie Girls are what, 14 inches, it looks like MGA just repacked all the Bratz stuff and expect Moxie Girls to just crouch down or something. Boo!

*imagine me throwing myself on the floor in a tantrum*

Okay going to buy doll hair and repaint stuff. I need a treat though. A dolly treat. And me wants it now!

Let's see, the hair and repaint stuff is for Ms. Fear. She already has a coffee table on the way. Maybe some clothes for her. And Dani has no dining table. I will have satisfaction!

I see why they call it Evilbay.

You Might Have a Doll Problem If...

2011-07-21T12:25:00.005-04:00

...you are desperate to buy something with consistent 1 star ratings just because it looks fairly realistic.

Case in point Moxie Girlz Magic Snow Cabin. I know the icicles fall off and the roof falls off and the magic of the magic snow is its ability to stick to everything. But I want it anyway! Look at how cute and realistic it will be if you paint it. Everyone complaining are moms who are not down with the art of customization, so what do they know anyway?

I had this vague idea that my doll town was in the mountains in France somewhere. I need a chalet, do I not? I think so.

But can we discuss this house? I'm in love! Look at it! Okay I hear you but look at exterior! Now this is being billed as Moxie Girlz house. But I've seen it called a Bratz House too with slightly different accessories. Leftovers from the Mattel lawsuit? Now if this is big enough for Moxies it will be fine for Barbie and FRs but if it's Bratz, that's an issue.

Anyone have this house? If not I'll report on it soon because I'm not sure I can fight this urge...

Best Video Ever!

2011-07-20T08:06:00.000-04:00

Leave it to the Beastie Boys!

2.5 Sweet Hours of Freedom

2011-07-18T09:24:00.000-04:00

My husband's friend was having a barbecue this weekend. There are few things in this world that I dread more than social situations. So I was delighted when my husband told me that I could avoid it and he would take both the kids to make an appearance. Sweet bountiful freedom!!!

I was so psyched to get some doll work done, but what? I had to manage that time well. Two and a half hours moves quickly when you're working on doll things. So I started at nap time, sorting my "to be filed" bits of clothes and shoes that I never put in their proper home after using them.

I spray painted that washer/dryer set I got recently as well as a bar I just received in an exchange. I moved Dani's house down from the unreachable location where I had moved it. Clearing out space in the doll room is as dangerous as a big purse. You just KNOW you're going to fill it with stuff. Anyway, Dani is the next doll (after Ms. Fear) to get attention, so I need her house close by.

Then I broke out my three kitchens and filled them with food and dishes. All glued down with Elmer's Glue.

Josephine's Kitchen (sorry, totally blurry). The chipped table actually belongs to the gypsies and I'm not sure if Josephine will actually have an eat-in kitchen. Just trying it on for size...It's funny how much you learn about a person when you put stuff in their kitchen. Josephine collects teapots and exists only on tea, coffee and foods like crumpets, finger sandwiches and cake. Oh and bread. You can't be a Francophile and not have pan. (I just found it funny that she's a Francophile and her gypsy boyfriend is named Franco).

My technicolor kitchen. This apartment was inspired by Blythe and Momoko owners who are not afraid of colorful cartoonish silliness in their doll world:

Finally fixed that butcher block too.

And here is Dani's kitchen. I love how the washer/dryer came out. I added some small pics from their last vacation and blackened the TV screen with paint markers.

See the walls of Dani's living room there? Ugh. I paid too much attention to "spanish style decor" and too little to "Spanish style architecture." My attempt at the look of tinted plaster walls turned out looking really messy. What a gross color too.

And since I'm done with my reroot (Has not been styled or thatch parted yet), I thought I'd show you June. He's wearing a muumuu my mother made. But she made it too big for the girls, so instead of letting her throw it out, I took it for June. The Hubs said he looks like a Branch Davidian. ha!

"You! Insolent Mortal! Where is my makeover?! I have souls to crush you know."

Ms. Fear is waiting for me to get some acetone and some black hair and some sealer and some better quality paint. She's sort of bald on the sides so she needs some new hair holes. And her hair texture is awful so she might be in line for a reroot. But it takes so long, I'm not sure yet... Or maybe I'll just make that reroot tool and it will go really fast....

BUT (no picture), I used a paint marker to fix the nicks on her Fashion Royalty couch and it looks perfect again. I double-stick taped the cushions down because they're always shifting around.

And for my unnamed coke dealer Momoko I stocked her living room entertainment center with toys she collects, some books and what ancient humans used to call a "VCR". I'm also working on building her a couch. Yeah, we'll see how that goes...

Fairytale Ending

2011-07-12T10:00:00.003-04:00

I believe I mentioned writing a fairytale, right? And that I was building a fairy tale cottage? Yeah I'm scrapping that project for now. It's rapidly turning into a doll house project when it was just supposed to be an easy room box.

And because it's made of wood, it became a wood-working project and with the kids, it's just not doable. I have so many other things to do anyway. I'll still be writing it, but building the cottage and doing the photostory is shelved for now.

Also the Dolly U format is bugging me. As much as I always wanted to customize an airplane, I had no business starting that. I have no space for it and it's only going to be used for like one shot in a photostory. I'm still doing it, but really it's so silly.

In fact, many Dolly U assignments are kind of useless to what I'm currently doing in doll world. So here's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to focus on one doll at a time and fix up her world.

For instance. Miss Fear my treasured, misunderstood villainess.

I love her dearly but the blue eyeshadow? Honey, please.
Also, her slanty eyes are bordering on racism but she'll have to wait until I figure out how to repaint.
BUT they also gave her blue eyes, which is so common in Asia. So she gets a little editing.
She also has a new, shiny body, so that will need sanding.
Since I reorganized my doll apartment building, she no longer has a back wall (It's an Expedit shelf, open on either side)
Since she is my only action figure body girl, she desperately needs some clothes
Mama Fear work including an eye fix, a reroot with white hair and a Liv body and a cane. And boundless contempt.

I might have more but for now, that's what Miss Fear needs. Once I'm done with her, I'm done. (I'm hearing your cackling laughter now)

Technically here, this involves 3 Dolly U assignments plus I'm not adding more junk to my doll room.

I'm not sure who will go first but I'm almost finished rerooting June so I might as well go ahead and do her makeup and get her in an outfit. I found the Harley Davidsen body to be pretty prissy so she's getting that bod for the time being.

Okay I better go. I have $60 burning a hole in my pocket and I don't know what to buy today...Etsy has a great dining table set but I'm not sure I need it...hahah. Like that ever stopped us.

smooches,
dani

When You're Away, Do Your Dolls Play?

2011-07-06T14:34:00.006-04:00

I love Toy Story mostly because I like the idea of my toys having adventures and stuff while I'm out of the room. Sometimes I wonder when suddenly a doll falls from her perch for no reason or a gal is leaning on a boy's shoulder.

Twice recently I have posed dolls (with no intent really, just to get them out of the way or change up where I've placed them in various doll homes) and when I turn around, they're doing something strange or naughty.

Case in point: Mistress Ava. I'm working on Sugar's social circle now that she's a short haired punker. So I sat her with Mistress Ava and Bambi the doe-eyed bimbo (Pop Life Barbie-blonde) to assess the vibe. This is what I saw a couple of days later:

Hmm, does someone have a crush? (Peep the bedding made by my mom)

Then I moved another doll of the same mold. Here working name is Alishaafter the chick from Misfits. Anyone watch that show? Brilliant. Can't believe Nathan won't be on it for Series 3. But I digress.

Anyway, look what I find later on:
Hussy! I might have expected this from Mistress Ava. Or Bambi. Or Momoko. Or Miss Fear. Or Aoki. Or Dusty. Or...okay they're all whores. Especially Zeke (Legolas Ken). He's dated like 6 of my girls already.

What are your dolls up to when you're not around?

smooches

Big Weekend!

2011-07-05T10:33:00.001-04:00

Happy 4th, you guys. I took an extra day off so I had four sweet days off, one of which was child-free thanks to good old grandma!

WARNING, PLASTIC NUDITY!

Friday brought me a massive haul. A new body, a new head (who fits none of my bodies, sigh). Also, I have an awesome doll buddy. We do doll trades. I send her old bods and she sends me very cool fun accessories. Look what I got:

Sweet haul. Ms. Fear's Mom is digging the Chinese pajamas. Well, she's not going to let YOU know that.

I can't wait to play with the other things. I can't wait to paint that bar and use it in one of my doll homes. I'm already using the stools.

Here's what else I was up to:

Felix got a new body!

Dani is very happy. She finally gets to bump plastics with her fiance.

I installed the kitchen shelving which are Barbie laundry room shelves turned sideways. Man, I need to brush that girl's hair.

I added some art to the walls of the studio. I'm working on the back walls for these rooms. This one will have a giant warehouse-type window. The Hubs did that little illustration in high school.

The reroot is going pretty well, if not incredibly slow. You think 20 plugs will get your somewhere but it sure doesn't feel like it.

It turns out Hana's bangs are not so mangled after all. She just needed loads of boiling water, a wee trim and a few days looking like she's sweatin' to the oldies! She'll be back to stealing your boyfriends in no time!

Best part: began to gather materials for my fairy tale. I had them in a pile, but putting them up like this is way more inspiring. Uh, no there won't be cocktail umbrellas in the story. Interesting story. See that mirror on the wall behind the cottage to be? I got it at a yard sale. It's like a black mirror, a wanna be antique. I hope I can use it in the story. Very spooky.

And on a final note, at my sister's 40th birthday celebration dinner, I found Dani's bridal shower 'gag' gift. Oh my god, no pun intended! haha

smooches,
dani

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner....

2011-06-29T09:28:00.000-04:00

....It's Miss Fear's Mom! But we'll get to her in a minute. I'll wait for my rage to subside.

First I just wanted to show you some pics of how my reroot and airplane are going. This was a few days ago, so now June has a bit more hair.

Ingredients: Later I used a demitasse of water instead of the spray bottle which got everything too wet except for the hair. I also stuck the needle in a cork (needle eye out) and started rooting the plug eye-first into the hole with pre-knotted plugs. Much faster. Later Corset Kitten will show me how to make a reroot tool. Right, homegirl?

Here's where we are so far. I should have cut the hair first. Now I have miles of hair that keeps getting tangled

It took a lot of paint but I've got my airplane painted. I think I'll take it outside this weekend and give it a big more. You can still see a lot of blue... But hey, I'm getting there! By the way, glossy Krylon for plastic has better coverage than the matte for some reason...

Okay, let's meet your new mommy.

Comme Ca du Mao Susie. I got a great deal for her on ebay. I really wanted Hanoi Hue Susie. She doesn't have bangs so looks more like a grandmother. But I think I'm a rerooting queen now, so I went for this girl with the idea that I'd reroot her.

I bought some gray hair, but it looks more like dishwater blonde, so this lady will be shelved while I try to find her some clothes to sit it and maybe a headband so she can get started telling Miss Fear what a failure she is.

Also, she really looks more Chinese than Japanese to me, but in a family of Japanese girls that just look like white girls with black hair, she'll fit in well enough.

Onto the review.

Here she is in the box. Her outfit is cute. Many of my dolls will enjoy the various parts. The box is flimsy and she was flopping around everywhere.

The stand. This is the bottom. Looks like it had been set on fire. Note the bubbles.

Hmm, the stand stick doesn't fit in the hole. Awesome.

Sassy little pigtails with braided ribbon.

At first I thought her shirt was irregular. Wouldn't surprise me with this girl But I examined the shirt and found this was intentional. Was this the look of adorable commie teens in the day? I might fix that.

Wait. Why is she standing funny?

Crap! Her legs are crooked! See how uneven her knees and feet are? She's lame. Well maybe that will work well for an old lady. Ooh, I'll give her a cane! A fancy cane, so she can point to your lamp and tell you how tacky it is and how in her day, people cared how their homes looked.

Then in yanking off her boots, the sole came off! She is a piece of junk!! Another thing: her skin felt dirty. Like when you're a kid and you go outside and get sweaty then come in and don't shower? The sticky salty weird skin? Yeah she has that. I had to wash her already.

Maybe she was meant to stand like this at all times.

Also the points of light in her eyes are lopsided. She's always and never looking directly at you.

I almost never regret a doll purchase unless she's a Barbie and I'm happy someone's around to nitpick Ms. Fear like she nitpicks Sooki but I will probably never buy another Susie again.

Mrs Fear (she needs a name, friends!) will get some gray streaks or maybe salt and pepper. Her eyes will fixed and if I can remove the smile at the corner of her mouth, I will. She'll also get some subtle wrinkles. She doesn't age much because she smears the blood of innocents on her face every night. Okay I'm kidding. But she will be so mean that you will believe it to be true!

Oh wait, and her body! She was like a dollar store doll! Eck!

smooches,dani

An Extension

2011-06-27T09:57:00.003-04:00

I finally got the opportunity to spray paint my airplane this weekend. It's looking pretty good so far. But customizing it the way I want is going to take some time. I'd love to find a nice leather-like fabric for the chairs and carpeting that is both retro and futuristic. And really after watching a million HGTV shows (just got our cable back after a couple of years of devout anti-televisionism), I need to work on layering, layering, layering. I want the airplane to look minimal, but I definitely need too work on my eye for detail!

So I've gotten a jump on the Hair chapter. I ordered from Dolly Hair, but their customer service leaves a bit to be desired. So while I wanted to hear back from them, I decided to get my hair needs from Restore Doll. What a great decision. They had what I need (doll needles) without having to buy a "kit". And I was able to find the hair color I need in stock and it arrived in like a day! I will definitely shop there again.

I have three dolls that are my reroot candidates. I'm working on my transsexual, June.

Man, this takes forever! I think I might have to buy (or make) that reroot tool for the tension method.

Anyway, I'll post some pics this week of my slow progress.

smooches,
dani

Stealing Storylines

2011-06-24T09:49:00.004-04:00

So I'm on one of my favorite photostory sites and I see that she has a very similar storyline. Orphaned girl, raised in the Alps who later finds out she's a princess when she discovers her father is a king of some tiny made up country. Seriously? The friggin' Alps even?

In her defense, I never mentioned that my doll's father is royalty, (WAS an upcoming photostory shocker) perhaps glazed over the Alps, if I mentioned it at all. And really, take out the Alps and you've Princess Diaries. As my husband loves to say "The Universe has run out of original ideas."

In this case, I know she didn't STEAL material, but I still have to rework my upcoming story. But what if someone DID steal your material? What could you do? As far as I know, we don't copyright our stories and we don't really make money off of them. It would just be principle.

So if it happened to you, what would you do?

Oh it's okay, Dani, we'll figure out why your father's identity has been a secret all these years...

The Closing of a Business That Never Opened

2011-06-23T09:20:00.009-04:00

Okay so you remember the doll business I was starting with my mom? Yeah well it ain't gonna happen. YAY! Originally, I was really excited about it. So many of you sell things and I wanted to be a part of the doll community in that way. Now I'm grateful not to be!

Ya see, I used to draw cartoon girls. Then I developed it into a business where I were draw a custom cartoon of you or anyone you wanted. But you know there are people who are naturally cartoon-like and inspire me to make cartoon versions of them. But there are some people who are not. Some people have faces that just didn't work in cartoon form. Or the person I'm doing it for had a million different "corrections" they wanted. These always came out terribly. An artist cannot make art with someone over their shoulder.

An example of my cartoons: me and the Hubs for our wedding party (we eloped, then had a big party a few months later).

Anyway, the point is doing things you love for other people can really suck. Even if technically I wasn't making anything. Dolls make me so happy and I don't want anyone to change that. And I get to keep the stock. Woohoo!!!

So now I can tell you all about the business, which might happen again the future.

It was to be called Vita Plastica: Domestic Couture. We would have all manner of household textiles: "down" comforters, duvet covers, fitted sheets, top sheets, pillow cases, sleeping pillows and throw pillows, shams, tablecloths, napkins, placemats, curtains, shoe bags (the ones that hang over your closet door and hold several pairs of shoes), robes, muumuus, etc.

We even had an etsy page: http://www.etsy.com/shop/vitaplastica

I really just never had any time to take a photo! And when I did, I was reminded that I was supposed to work on my photography! Then came yard sales, organizing the home and um, hello, Dolly University! Remember that?

I was just talking to my boss about this business. She feels my pain, she is a grad student, has her own cake making/catering business, is a Zumba instructor, and takes work home with her all the time. You just have to prioritize. This business was not at the top.

Then I get an email from my mom telling me that she's through with retirement and she's going back to work! Some people really like working I guess. Well, power to her. She's very youthful and vibrant and loves a good reason to wear her posh clothes every day. (I myself would be so happy if I could rock sweats every day!)

My uncle even made 3 doll beds, which are now mine. Mouhahah! Maybe if I sand and stain them, I'll sell them. And maybe if there is any interest, I'll sell a "down" comforter. What he hell am I going to do with 6 duvets?

I did manage to take one picture. Here it is below. Yeah, this is the least blurry picture of the set.

My uncle made the bed and my mom made the rest. The model is Melody Lane (Between Takes Barbie on a Pop Life body). The thing at the bottom (with the swirly pattern) is just a strip of fabric. It's not technically a "throw" or anything. But it does finish off the set nicely. Behind the green pillows is sham in the same pattern.

So, hello and goodbye VP: Domestic Couture, I hardly knew ye.

smooches,
dani

Procrastination Station!

2011-06-21T08:35:00.005-04:00

So this weekend we had a yard sale, which is a really smart thing to do in 95 degree weather. We have very few customers, but made a couple hundred bucks. Mostly from my mother. Thanks Mom!

But this was to benefit my husband's missing music collection. So all the money belongs to him. He proceeded to buy groceries with it. What a guy. Know what else he bought?

I have been eyeing this washer/dryer for months but when I was ready to buy it, it was gone. So this will be painted red I think, with a silver ironing board. Not that it matters to the adult collector but I'm pleased to see that they spin. Mattel can be so slack on their play line.

Also pictured, my button shank remover arrived. Another one for the toolbox! Thanks for the wisdom Smidgegirl! I'm ready to cut the crap out of some plastic stuff! But now that I have it, I can't remember what I was so desperate to cut...

My doll room is still like a construction zone, but it will be beautiful by the weekend. (I hope I hope I hope)

Here's the best part of that laundry set:
Can you make out that shelf? Sorry the white balance on my camera is terrible. Working on it people, working on it. Anyway, though it is orange and glitter covered I'm going to leave it as is for my Blythe/Momoko inspired Technicolor Apartment.

I'm also thinking about the fantasy element of my doll world. When researching town names I came across a small town in France that is centered around a castle. Called the Chateau, I believe. I had an idea to repaint a little Barbie castle and have a vampire or something live there. But I'm leaning more towards a powerful sorceress. The castle or stately manor will be sort of like the Edward Scissorhands house. It's up on a hill, everyone's scared of it and no one knows what happens there. Except maybe the gypsy.

So I'm thinking about characters when I really should be thinking about my dang airplane which is still sitting dismantled in a plastic bin, waiting to be painted. I still have another month.

Also, that doll business I mentioned? I think I'll give you guys a sneak peek this week, but it needs its own post I think.

No Post This Week

2011-06-14T11:18:00.008-04:00

This post is to tell you there is no post this week. We are having a massive yard sale this weekend and the only place to keep the crap out of the clutches of tiny hands is to put it in my doll room. Sigh.

The humidity has also kept me from spray painting my airplane anyway. Something tells me I'm not going to make my deadline.

But I did buy some doll hair, brushes for repaint and a button shank remover, so I'm excited about getting to work.

I haven't formally announced it yet, there's no sense in making announcements with no pictures, but my mom and I are going into business together doing doll stuff. I'm not telling anything yet, but I will tell you she's a seamstress. That's my only clue for you guys and it isn't much of one, considering the spectrum of doll work out there. This is why I have to work on my photography skills! Okay here's a picture for you.

Me and Mom, 1976

We have some friends who are moving to San Francisco, so we got great deals on some of their furniture. None of it is for dolls but the Hubs is able to reorganize his DJ room so I inherit a shelf from him that I will be using to stage my photos. It's not in the greatest place but having a permanent staging area will really help when it comes to set up time and "wait, where did I put my camera"?

Huh. Well, this turned into a post after all.

smooches,
dani

Sugar On Top

2011-06-06T10:53:00.000-04:00

Let's talk about Sugar.

She's Byron Lars Sugar Barbie. What a beauty. I got her in 2005 I think and I loved her. This was the first time I had seen "natural" hair on a Barbie and on a light skinned doll at that!

She was best friends with Aoki who we will discuss in a moment.

I loved Sugar. Her heinous flocked gloves were awful. As soon as I learned to rebody, I gave her the bod of that preggo Barbie.

She married Chad the trumpet player (some kind of old Integrity doll with a Drag Queen "Ken" body). They even had a kid, but that made her so boring, I had to go back in time and undo it.

She had become something of a B-lister in my doll world. Chad had joined a new band, had a group of new hipster friends and Sugar became a character you never see anymore.

That "natural" hair had become a frizzy mess. I had no idea how to take care of it. So I had the STUPID idea to dump a little boiling water on it to "relax" it. Stupid! She just had frizzy waves. No awesome afro!

I gave her a Fashionista body and she instantly became more interesting. But she was still just too "classy" for my doll town. She had no story, no drama.

Meanwhile I bought an SIS Barbie who reminded me of Sugar. I think she's the Trichelle. She had natural hair, is a hipster and plays keytar in Chad's band The Vinyls. But she's got that annoying SIS body. So I contemplated making her the new Sugar.

Despite being the same mold, Sugar is much prettier. Sorry Trichelle. And the skin tone is all wrong for Sug's new Fashionista body. I had to make this Sugar work. With or without Chad.

Introducing the new Sugar:

This is after several boiling water "relaxers" and taking some chances with the hair cutting techniques I've been studying. Not too shabby. I'm pretty sure she'll be dumping Chad.

Aoki

Now, moving on. As you may recall I wanted to give someone a chic bob. Aoki (Rare Creature Veronique) was the best candidate. Already thin hair, already a long bang in place. So here she is before, eyeballing Hunter's bankroll:

And after:

Hmm, some hair in that bang's a bit wispy. She might need another boiling water shower!

Okay that's all I have to report today. I also cut Hana (Electropop Jasper)'s bangs but I'm not sure how I feel about them.

So my assignment was to style 3 dolls and I've done it! But I still haven't done the more extreme layering I want to do, so that's next!

smooches,
dani

Toy Hero

2011-06-06T09:39:00.000-04:00

Well, if you're not familiar with the concept of guilt, breaking your kid's arm will definitely get you well acquainted with the term. So Saturday night, in the middle of our usual changing-into-pajamas wrestling match, I must have pulled Iris's arm too much because I dislocated it! It is a disturbingly common affliction called Nursemaid's Elbow. Man I'd hate to be the nanny for which this term was coined!

Anyway, I think the emergency room was more traumatizing for Iris than the pain. Temperature taking, pulse and poking and prodding. All standard for us, but for a kid who's already exhausted from the previous night's slumber party and with parents who are freaking the heck out, it must have been pretty scary.

So we're sitting there in the exam room, waiting for a doctor. My mother has shown up to care for the new baby but I can tell from the wails floating down the hall that she's having some trouble quieting her. I'm pacing, unable to help either of my children, when I find this little toy soldier on the footrest of the exam table.

I douse him in sanitizer and Iris gave me the tiniest of smiles. Okay he looks like a leader of a legion of the undead but that little guy was a hero to me and Iris who could only play with with him one handed. *sniff* (below is the next day)
I tried to get her to leave it for the next kid. Any kid that has to go to the ER needs a little toy. But she was not having any of that! Whatever. You can use your arm, Kid, you can have whatever you want!

I'll be following this post with a Dolly U one. Just wanted to give a shout out to Sergeant Screamy Face for personally rescuing my daughter from a case of the frights. As you were.

smooches,
dani

Took the Plunge

2011-06-01T13:15:00.000-04:00

I finally did it. I bought my domain. What the heck took me so long? Anywho, go check me out when you get a chance:

http://www.vitaplastica.com/

smooches,
dani

The Airplane and Other Big Projects

2011-05-31T12:35:00.000-04:00

The Site:

Poor Vita Plastica, the website. It gets no love. Blogs are so immediate and changeable. But for that reason, I wanted to post more of the Dolly University assignments so if you're interested, you don't have to check some buried post. While I was there, I reorganized some things, made a banner to go up. Looking pretty sweet so far. One of these days I really need to buy the domain name. I really hadn't had a reason until now. More on that later. But for now, go check out okay?

www.vitaplastica.weebly.com

Pan Em Air
I really don't know if I can be done with this airplane by my due date (July 13th) but I did a fair amount of work on it this weekend. I have never done this before and I hope it won't come back to haunt me, but I took it all apart. I will get a better paint job this way I think. Of course, I have to be sure not to add too many layers of paint or it will never come back together.

Lemme just tell you, GooGone is my new bestie. Now everything is de-stickered, washed, dried and ready for spray paint. I couldn't take the cock pit apart. I was so stressed over it.

But I managed to get the controls out, which is really what I wanted to do. The screen is so detailed I didn't want to lose that sticker.

It was super humid and gross out so I didn't do any painting yet.

Moonlighting

So my husband was at work and I am usually stuck in bed with my baby who refuses to sleep alone at night. I usually bring my laptop and do some doll studying but I've decided to start bringing quiet projects in there. Can't wait to start re-rooting. That will be a perfect time.

Anyway so I wanted to make some cutesy storage boxes. I used the shoebox printie from Jim's Printable Minis

But uh, when I made my stencil and traced it, well I guess my tracing job sucked because they are sad little boxes with covers and bottoms in wonky sizes. Still they are cute. Maybe I'll try again with stiffer paper.

Hey do you know that cell phone commercial where they try to make a celebrity couple, "Sparah"?
Whatever, just check it out.

Do you see the bob on that PR lady? I'm obsessed with it. I want one of my girls to have a chic New York type bob. But I know from previous experience that bob are not easy to pull off.

I was going to give Aoki a partial re-root anyway. She was a ponytailed doll and only partially rooted so she will be my victim. See, if I can make her whole head the length of her bang, we're in business...

Speaking of bangs, I discovered the my Coney Island Poppy has some bangs that just make me angry. First of all, they are totally puffy and will never sit down properly. But then, studying them closer, they are thatched! What the hell? Why? So the hairline includes long strips that go back and short ones that go front. Why would they do this? What purpose does this serve? So I'm going to see if I can figure out how to make some improvements there. She might be a re-root candidate.

Okay the other big project announcement will have to wait. I don't want to bury it at the bottom of another post. But let's just say that I will need to work on my photography skills. VERY SERIOUSLY. So expect to see lots of practice shots of dolls in the future. But if you go to my website, you'll see a clue.

Looks like my Dolly U Photography chapter is starting sooner than I expected!

Any help would be really appreciated!

smooches,
dani

Zee Plane Boss, Zee Plane!

2011-05-26T10:41:00.000-04:00

Okay could not resist that dorky joke title. At long last my airplane arrived!!! It took like 10 days but it's finally here and I can get started on my Doll Vehicle Customization assignment.

Some sort of monster hybrid of two boxes arrived and I heard a terrible rattle as I snatched it from the mail carrier's clutches.

I began to open it and was not pleased at my findings. What you are seeing below are tiny accessories (including tiny ice cubes) that would have fallen out of the box if not for the box tape. I wonder what did manage to fall out...

All the accessories were just dumped into the box! Horrors! Would it kill you to use a Ziploc?

Hmm, but what is this? My first Silkie!!

Have I mentioned I hate Silkies? Still I always wanted to handle one, to feel the silky skin and as usual, get her naked and see what's she's got going on.

She must have been a cheapie. No one would treat a fancy Silkstone Barbie so disrespectfully. Even me. What is with their mutant protruding plastic line of "eyelashes"? Anyway, I have new doll trading buddy so this gal will be shipped off before she has a chance to poison my flock with her outdated ideas. (Really some Silkies are very pretty so don't get too offended)

Anyway, totally excited that she came with a wedding dress!!! Okay so it won't fit Dynamite Girl Dani, but it's good that she has options. Oh did I tell you my mother said she'd make Dani's wedding dress? That's TWO things my mother has/will do on my assignment list. More on that later.

I am still really happy with the airplane. Came with load of original accessories and some cool freebies like wheeled luggage, a luggage cart and our little redhead friend above. Here are some shots:

Imagine this all white with silver doors.

This is my pilot, checking out her new digs.

She photographs much better than she looks.

I'm excited to get to work! So the plan is to cover make this as white as possible, inside and out with silver accents and some tangerine colors in there.

Did I tell you the name of the airline? It's Pan Em Airlines. If you read the Hunger Games, I hope you got a chuckle, if you didn't, get on it buddy! I KNOW they'll come out with dolls for the characters. They just have to. So be prepared. You will read all three in a weekend. Do it.

Last Day for Smidgehouse stuff

2011-05-20T09:02:00.000-04:00

Hi guys!

This is the last day to order from Smidge House! The shop is closing for good at the end of the day. I'm pretty bummed that I made that promise to the Hubs that I wouldn't make any doll related purchases until he gets enough mula together for new equipment.

Anyway, she has loads of new stuff up there like side tables and corkboards. So go buy a piece of history before she's gone!! Visit the Smidge House etsy shop.

My airplane still isn't here so I'm already falling behind on my assignment. I think I'll spend the weekend making a little dollhouse for Iris because she keeps bringing her trashy undressed Barbies into my precious doll apartments and wrecking stuff.

smooches,
Dani

The Hubs' Missing Music

2011-05-18T12:42:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess his Facebook note is not accessible to everyone like I thought. Thanks for trying! Well here is the enormous list. It's not exactly alphabetical but sort of. This is how he pulled the empty cases off his shelf and how I pulled them out of the box. So a little wonky... But here it is. Have a seat, this will take a minute! Any help would be much appreciated!!!

Attica Blues-Test. Don’t test.
Beck-Loser
Best of House Music Volume 6 -Various
Bombay Dub Orchestra
Boneshakers, an Urban Groove Culture (Down to the Bone) -Various
Martyn Bennett-Bothy Culture
Kurtis Blow-The History of Rap-Various
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook-Night Song
Madness-One Step Beyond
Filter-Elvis Never Meant Sh*t to Me-Various
The Sugar Hill Records Story-Disc Two-Various
Dhol Foundation-Big Drum: Small World
Dubmission 2: The Remixes-Various
Further East-Westercisms-Various
Hip Hop Classics Volume Two-Various
History of House Music Volume 1: Chicago Classics-Various
Massive Attack-Mezzanine
Funkadelic-Uncle Jam Wants You
FunkSoulBrothers-Various
The Fun Boy Three-Really Saying Something, Best of Fun Boy Three
Frequent Flyer-Bombay-Various
50,000,000 DJ’s Can’t Be Wrong-Volume One: Mixed Up Beats-Various
Amp Fiddler-Waltz of a Ghetto Fly
Future Funk 2-Various
Future Soul-Various
Future World Funk-Latin, Afro, Funk, Dub and Future World Beats-Various
Future World Funk-The Third Dimension of Afro, Funk and Future World Beats-Various
Future World Funk-On the Run-Various
50 First Dates Soundtrack
Lady Sovereign-Vertically Challenged
Lamb-Fear of Fours
Lamb (Debut Album)
Lenny Kravitz-Mama Said
Oi Va Voi-Laughter Through Tears
Ojos de Brujo-Bari
Nordic Exposure-Various
Novalima-Afro
The Primitives-Best of the Primitives
Everything but the Girl vs. Drum ‘n’ Bass
The Beat-b.p.m…the very best of
Bar Brasilia-Various
Asana-Various
Prince-Sign ‘o’ the Times
Prince-[symbol] 12 inch
Freestyle Volume 8-Various
Freestyle Volume 9-Various
Freestylers-Pressure Point
The 80’s Hot Dance Trax-Various
Al Green-Greatest Hits
Good Times with Joey and Norman Jay-Various
The Golden Age of Black Music (1977-1988) -Various
Girl 6 Soundtrack
Giant Steps-Volume One-Various
The JB’s-Funky Good Time: The Anthology
Marvin Gaye-Midnight Love and The Sexual Healing Sessions
The Power of Suggestion-Karminsky Experience, Inc.
The Jesus and Mary Chain-Automatic
Jazzanova-The Remixes 1997-2000
Jamiroquai-The Return of the Space Cowboy
Jamirioquai-Traveling Without Moving
Jamiroquai-A Funk Odyssey
Jamiroquai-Emergency on Planet Earth
Get on This!!! Volume 1-Various
Get on This!!! Volume 2-Various
Abstract Rude + Tribe Unique: P.A.I.N.T.
Arabesque-Various
Art of Noise-“daft”
Aromabar-Milk and Honey
Audio Bully-Ego War
Natacha Atlas-Gedida
Asian Dub Foundation-Frontline 1993-97 Rareities and Remixes
Badmarsh & Shri-Signs
Badmarsh & Shri-Dancing Drums (Album Advance)
Balkan Beat Box
Back to Love -Various
Back to Love 3-Various
Brazilian Groove (Putumayo) -Various
Brazilian Funk Experience-Various
Brand New Heavies-Brother Sister
Brand New Heavies-Heavy Rhyme Experience: volume 1
Brand New Heavies
BranVan 3000
Roy Ayers-Evolution
Antibalas’ Afrobeat Orchestra-Liberation Afrobeat Volume 1
Depeche Mode-Master and Servant single (CD 11 of box set)
Depeche Mode-People are People single (CD 10 of box set)
Depeche Mode-Everything Counts (In small amounts) single (CD 8 of box set)
Def Jam Recordings Classics Volume 1-Various
Deee-Lite-Sampladelics Relics and Dancefloor Oddities
Deee-Lite-Groove is in the Heart single
Dead or Alive-Rip it Up
Dance Hall Nice Again: 2004 Reggae Y Reggaeton-Various
The Cure-Mixed Up
Ekova-Heaven’s Dust
80’s Underground Rap: Can You Feel It? -Various
80’s Dance Party Volume One-Various
Kool and the Gang Spin Their Top Hits
Azihan and Kamien-Freaks & Icons
The Disco Years-Lost in the Music Volume Four-Various
Diggin’ the Crates-For the Beats, Ya’ll-Various
Digable Planets-Blowout Comb
Coney Island Love-The Fresh Sounds of the Sea-Various
Chuck D Presents: Louder Than a Bomb-Various
Sheila Chandra-Roots and wIngs
Car Wash Soundtrack
Café Del Mar Vol. 6-Various
Café Del Mar Vol. 5-Various
Bubba Sparxxx-Dark Days, Bright Nights
Bowie: The Singles 1969 to 1993
Bhangra “1998” (12 Dance Tracks) -Various
Black Star Liner-Yemen Cutta Connection
Black Star Liner-Twelve Inch Confrontation Mix
James Brown’s Funky People-Various
James Brown’s Funky People (Part 2) -Various
James Brown-Foundations of Funk, A Brand New Bag: 1964-1969
Break n’ Bossa-Chapter 5-Various
The Blackbyrds-Greatest Hits
Blaxploitation: Various
Blaxploitation: The Sequel-Various
Blaxploitation: Theme Payback Vol. 3-Various
Blaxploitation: Harlem Hustle-Various
Hex Hector-Remixology
A Choice Collection of Funk 45’s-Various
TJ Rehmi-Invisible Rain
One Self-Children of Possibility
Old School Funk-Various
Old School Volume 2-Various
Old School Volume 3-Various
Old School Volume 7-Various
Off-Centre – A Riot on Old Street
Gary Numan-Cars Promo Single
Nu Brazil-Various
Nu Brazil 2-Various
The Now Sound of Brazil-Varous
Nortec Collective-Tijuana Sessions Volume 3-Various
Nightmares on Wax-In a Space Outta Sound
New Wave Hits of the 80’s-Various
New Wave Hits of the 80’s Volume 1-15-Various
New Wave Dance Hits of the 80’s-Various
James Hardaway-Deeper Wider Smoother Sh*t
James Hardway-Straight From the Edge
Herbert-Bodily Functions
Madonna-Justify My Love Single
Massive-Unfinished Sympathy
Massive Attack e.p.
Massive Attack with Tracey Thorn- Protection Single
Bob Marley-Legend (Deluxe Edition) Disc Two
Excursions In Ambience-Various
M.I.A.-Galang Remixes and Bonus Video
M.I. A-Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
Ursula 1000-MegaMix Fall 2005
Urban Vibez (B&S Magazine)-Various
Lamb-All in Your Hands
Indie Top 20 Vol. VIII-Various
Impala Lounge Paris-Various
Ibiza Del Mar-Various
Haiku D’Etat-Various
Terry Hall & Mushtaq-The Hour of Two Lights
Mr. Scruff-Keep it Real
Moby-Go
One Step Ahead 2-Various
Only Rock n’ Roll-Various
Oojami-Urban Dervish
Oojami-Boom Shinga Ling
Oojami-Bellydancing Breakbeats
Phat Global #1-Various
What is hip? Remix Project Volume One-Various
Paul Weller-(self titled)
What’s the Worst That Could Happen? Soundtrack
The Rebirth of Cool: Volume 1-7 (UK Versions)-Various
The Raid-Various
Ragga Essentials In a Dancehall Style-Various
Queen-Greatest Hits Disc 1
Platinum on Black-Various
Platinum on Black III-Various
Michigan and Smiley-Eek a Mouse
New Visions: World Rhythms-Various
New Order-Best of
New Fast Automatic Daffodils-Big
MuslimGauze-Zul’M
Music and Movement: One-Various
One Thousand and One Nights-Various
George Michael-Listen Without Prejudice
Millennium Hip Hop Party-Various
Steve Miller Band-Greatest hits 1974-78
Verve: Remixed-Various
Verve: Remixed 2-Various
War: Grooves & Messages: Greatest Hits
Fifteen Years of Viva Hacienda Nights-Various
Zhane-Pronounced Jah-Nay
Zap Mama-A Ma Zone
Stevie Wonder-Fulfillingness’ First Finale
Wookie (self titled) UK Import
Bill Withers-Lean on Me: The Best of Bill Withers
Barry White-I’ve Got So Much to Give
Vh1 8-track Flashback : One Hit Wonders-Various
Bando de Gaia-10 Years
Rahmania:The Bollywood Brass Band-Various
Bollywood-Various (Greensleeves Rhythm Album #30)
The Bombay Jazz Palace-Various
Midival Punditz (self titled)
Destinations de Monde: Barcelona-Various (CD Sampler)
Rewind Vol. 2-Various
Rewind Vol. 3-Various
Rewind Vol. 4-Various
Rock Instrumental Classics Vol 3: the Seventies-Various
Rock Instrumental Classics Vol 4: Soul-Various
Rolling Stones-Rewind (1974-1984)
Royal House-Can You Party?
Rohan Root RMX: Various
RPM-“2000” (single)
Samba Soul 70!-Various
Sonar Kollektiv-Various
State of Bengal-Visual Audio
Suba-Tributo
Traveler ’00-Various
Traveler ’03-Various
Traveler ’06-Various
Veronica-No One But You
Kevin Yost-Abstract Funk Theory
Zuco 103-Tales of High Fever
K-os-Exit
!K7 Records 150-Various
Karsh Kale-Liberation
Karsh Kale-Redesign
Karsh Kale-Realize
Large-Various
Latin ¼ Parte Dos-Various
Latin Travels 2-Various
Los Mocosos-Shades of Brown
Micatone-Nine Song
Motion-Various
Motion2-Various
The Now sound of Brazil2-Various
Ian Pooley: Excursions
Pulse: a STOMP Odyssey Soundtrack
Zuco 103: Outro Lado
Bobi Cespedes-Rezos
Circa-Various
Ceasefire-Emmanuel Jal& Abdel Gadir Salim
Cee-lo: Cee-lo Green and his Perfect Imperfections Album Sampler
Celso Fonseca-Rive Gauche Rio
Beach House 04.02-Various
Batidos-Olajope
Bar Life-Various
Backspin-Various
Bebel Gilberto-Tanto Tempo Promo
Bebel Gilberto-Tanto Tempo Remixes
Asian Travels 2-Various
Arabesque (Rough Guide)-Various
Arabian Travels-Various
Arabian Travels 2-Various
Alphax-Gravity
Airport-Lift Off with Airport
Africa Travels-Various
Afrika Bambaataa presents Eastside-Various (Sampler)
Afrobeat-Various
DJ Cheb i Sabbah-Krishna Lila
Kenny Dop Presents Disco Heat-Various (Sampler)
Dzihan & Kamien-Refreaked
Dzihan & Kamien0Gran Rise’wa
EarlyHours-Various (Sampler)
Ekova-Space Lullables and Other Fantasmagore
Frikyiwa: Collection1- Various
Frikyiwa: Collection2- Various
Funk Box-Various
James Hardway-Moors + Christians
Temple of Sound & Rizwan-muazzam Qawwali- People’s colony No. 1
Tom Tom Club-(self titled)
Terra Musica: Global Explorer II-Various
Thievery Corporation-Abductions and Reconstrctions
Sting-Nothing Like the Sun
Suba-Sao Paulo Confessions
Street Jams: Electric Funk- Part 2: Various
Soul II Soul-Club Classics Vol. One (10th Anniversary Edition)
Snooze-Going Mobile
Sleeping Bag Records: Greatest Rap Hits-Various
Sidestepper-More Grip
Sidestepper-3am (in beats we trust)
Shunkar Collective-Urban Gypsy
Ursula Ricker-Ma’at Mama
Ursula Ricker –Supa Sista
The Rub-It’s the Motherf*cking Remix-Various
The Rub-It’s the Motherf*cking Remix 2-Various
Rufflife and HHC Present: The Ruff Sounds of Philly –Various
Ryukyu Underground-(Self titled)
Saint Etienne-Too Young to Die
Nitin Sawhney-All Mixed Up
Nitin Sawhney-Prophesy
Nitin Sawhney-Displacing the priest
Nitin Sawhney-Migration
Scuba: Hidden Treasure-Various
Seal-(Self titled)
The Selecter-Selected Selecter Selections
Specials-(self titled)
The Sound of Arabia-Various
Siouxsie & the Banshees-Kiss them for Me single
Stereo Sushi-Various
Spinners-Best of
Superfunk:the funkiest album in the world…ever-Various
Eddie Palmieri and Cal T’Jader-Bamboleate
Stoned Asia 1-Various
Stoned Asia 2-Various
Stoned Asia 3-Various
Sugarcubes-It’s It
“Sundays” Volume 1-Various
Swinging Mademoiselles-Various
Tomb Raider Soundtrack
Tommy Boy: Greatest Beats Volume 1: Various
Tommy Boy: Greatest Beats Volume 2: Various
Tommy Boy: Greatest Beats Volume 3: Various
Tommy Boy: Greatest Beats Volume 4: Various
Tony Touch-The Piece Maker
Touch: Talkin’ all that Jazz-Various
Marden Hill-Blown Away
Traveler ’01-Various
The Trip Hop Test: Part One-Various
UB40-Who You Fighting For?
2Step-+Future Soul
United Future Organization-Jazzin’
United Future Organization-No Sound is Too Taboo
United Future Organization-Bon Voyage
True Notes Volume 1-Various.

Help Replenish the Hubs' Music!

2011-05-13T13:18:00.000-04:00

As you may have read, we were robbed of my husband's DJ equipment and many CDs. I'm compiling a list and hope to replenish the items that are the foundation of his work. Please take a look at his website for the list of lost CDs and let us know if you can donate any music.

We'd be happy to send you CD-Rs or work out a nice music trade or something.

Here are the lists. We're going to put them on his website as soon as we get the first batch of CDs in:

List One

List Two

(let me know if there are any issues with these links)

Just drop me an email at vitaplastica AT gmail DOT com to let me know what you can help us with.

List three will be completed tonight.

Thanks for your help and support!
Danielle and The Hubs

The New Assignment-Revamp a Doll Vehicle

2011-05-13T13:04:00.000-04:00

Well, blogger is down, so this gives me a bit of time to think about the next assignment. I was feeling a bit torn. I have some things I need to accomplish outside of Dolly U. Like customizing some doll house stuff I bought to be used for one sixth scale. Cutting legs shorter on the dining room table I got to have it resemble a coffee table, making more houseplants out of the greenery I bought. Some rebodying, general cleaning and organizing, creating the backs for my doll apartments.

So I’m going to take on a big project. Revamping that Barbie airplane. I’m giving myself two months. Yeah it's a long time but it's no small feat and the airplane hasn't even arrived yet. But this project will be really involved, so I’m going to do several little projects in between.

I bought that Harley Davidson couple with the idea of giving the guy body to one of my impatient doll heads. But it doesn’t look right for anyone. I really wanted it for my Edward Cullen Ken but he’s too dang pale for any body I have. So that body might actually go to June my tranny. But currently June is hairless as I’m preparing him for my first ever reroot.

Anyway, I’m going to spend a while cleaning house first.

But anyway if you want to join me, the project is Customizing a Doll Vehicle. I’m not using any tutorial but Kimono’s Townhouse Facebook Page has helpful tips.

For my airplane, I’m inspired by the 60’s Airline culture so I’ve been researching that a bit. I’m also inspired by futuristic ideas. I can see us having an “iLife” future where everything is white and sleek and shiny like an iPod. Where your light switch is like the touch wheel, etc. I want everything white and silver and tangerine. Side note: Why is everything in the future either white and clean or gritty and sepia toned? According to movies that is.

Check out Aircraft Interiors International Magazine. Yeah, they have a magazine for that. Inspiring stuff.

I remember a while back I heard that Mariah Carey had wanted a really glossy glam hallway she painted it gold, but then she wanted more so she made her underlings go over it with clear gloss. Layer after layer until it positively glowed. I'm thinking of doing that for the interior.

But rest assured, there will be loads of other tasks I have for myself in between.

Oh, oh, I came up with a name for my airline. Pan Em. haha. It's a Hunger Games joke. Just go read the books. The will come out with Hunger Games dolls I'm sure. It's going to be huge. Who here is obsessed with Hunger Games?

This is such a sad, pictureless blog entry. Sorry guys.

smooches

Theft Can't Get Us Down!

2011-05-10T13:06:00.000-04:00

Well, here's an update. About 60% of the music that was lost were downloaded or ripped from CD's that we do still have (so instead of lugging around a bunch of CDs just to play selected tracks), and thankfully those are still on our computers. So just a few hundred CDs to replace as well as the equipment.

And anyway, he had been bidding on some stuff on ebay that he won after the theft, so we did have to luxuriate a bit more. Then I think he felt bad that I never got my Barbie airplane, so he scored one really cheap today. Hurray!

I'm so not in the mindset for Dolly U right now, but if I was paying for it, I would still have to do it, so I'm not going to let this stop me.

I've been reading the rerooting book by Donna Anne and I'm excited to get started on that but I can't afford the tools and hair yet, so, we'll see.

Obviously the airplane will get a revamp but I hesitate to make it an assignment until I've done some research on mod 60's airline culture.

Until then, I leave you with this:

Year of Luxury Grinds to a Screeching Halt

2011-05-08T19:28:00.001-04:00

Bittersweet weekend.

Bitter:

We awoke Saturday morning to find that someone had stolen the Hubs' DJ equipment and about 2000 cds (in CD books). Totally devastating. There is back up equipment and loads more music, but the loss is huge. So I'm not going to buy another doll for the rest of the year. We're going to send out a list of music to our friends, hoping to find copies of what he lost. Then we're going to hold a benefit for equipment replacement. We're staying positive because what the heck else can you do and treated this as an opportunity to upgrade his equipment.

Sweet:

My Monsieur Z Fly Girl arrived really fast. She's frigging adorable. Somehow I managed not to take any pics of her. Sigh.

But also, I finished my Dolly U project (click to enlarge):

I ended up wrapping the trunk in black embroidery thread. I had intended to paint over it, then remove it, but the Hubs suggested I leave it. I painted over the whole thing with a lighter greyish beige, then a very watered down greyish brown.

Popped it into a pot filled with Styrofoam painted dark brown.

Okay feeling a bit blue, but I'm studying a PDF book on rerooting I bought years ago and never studied. As soon as I gather my materials I'll get to work on that.

So I'll be back on the 13th to announce the next project. Hope you'll join me.

smooches,
dani

New Dolls! (UPDATED)

2011-05-05T13:16:00.001-04:00

Like I could really concentrate on my studies when there's a Barbie Collector sale going on?

But first, my Mother's Day Gift from the Hubs:

So cute! I want all three of the flight attendant girls for my airplane project. I need the Re-ment in flight meals too. Meanwhile this lady is actually going to stay in the box for a while. Too many projects!

Then I read a post over at Van's Doll Treasures about a sale at Barbiecollector.com. So I hopped over there and went totally bonkers.

I got the Jonathan Adler pink couch. (yeah I have one, but it was $16.00!)
All three Pop Life dolls. The deal was unbelieveable!
And the Harley Davidson couple that I wanted but didn't want to pay big money for. Ends up being like $35.

All for about $89!!!

Best deals ever!!!

But I saw another doll I want. I'm fairly sure the Hubs is going to throttle me in my sleep.

Fear not, dear classmates, I did find a solution to my tree issue and I think it might turn out pretty awesomely. I should be done on or before the deadline...

smooches!
Dani

Update: Found this beaut for $34!!!

Making Palms (and peeking at your paper for the answers)

2011-05-03T12:03:00.000-04:00

Well I guess for now my grade is an I for incomplete.

If you can recall, I was doing Party Dolly's Palm Tree Tutorial. Okay so here we go with my RE-torial (yes, I make up words)

Here is what I started with. Some big fake leaves, scissors, tape and wooden dowels (and my lazy model).

Then I snipped them like so.

Then instead of hot gluing them to the dowels, I taped the little mini stem to the dowel. Now I can shift the leaves around so they can look at bit more natural. I then wrapped the dowel in blue tape.

But the blue tape didn't have the adhesion I wanted so I switched to papier mache, which I am a big fan of. Really it's the same thing. Paper + glue.

So here are the supplies for the next leg of this project. Multicolored paints, elmer's glue plus water and strips of construction paper. I used a ruler to hold down the paper while I ripped it so I would get fairly even strips. Then I could create that criss crossing Party Dolly talked about. But that didn't actually work out....

One coat of papier mache:

Second coat of papier mache. It's so funny, the artist in the picture in that newspaper was waiting tables in the restaurant/lounge where the Hubs was DJing the day before I took this picture. Small town, Atlanta is.

Anyway I did some criss crossing but it didn't turn out as obvious as I would have liked.

Okay so after that was dry, I painted the stems with a dull brown. Then I tried my hand at dry brushing. After some palm tree research I decided not to do criss cross, but horizontal stripes like on some palms. Um, hmm. Yeah that just didn't look right either.

But I was pleased with the look. Really close up you can make out all the green and yellow I put in. Looks like the bark of some OTHER kinda tree. But from afar, looks like dull brown sticks.

So I'm sort of at an impass. I tried painting with sticks like Party Doll but man, that looked terrible. Maybe I dry brushed with the wrong brush? I used the one that looks like a fan.

Anyway I'm thinking of using something else to help me with the pattern. Here are the suggestions from me and the Hubs. Please vote:

1. wrap in doll rubber bands at small intervals and paint over with a lighter gray brown. Maybe dry-sponging or similar.
2. wrap a wide piece of foam core in fishnet (so that the X's are stretched wide), sponge with dark brown paint and stamp tree with it.
3. use a piece of burlap as a stamp instead.
4. none of the above.

I'm going for the fishnet. We'll see how that goes....

First Day of Class

2011-04-29T11:16:00.000-04:00

Well it's about time to get started with Dolly U. I am still lacking in supplies and there is a big sale at a local dollhouse store, so that's where my paycheck is going. But I don't want to slack off before I begin, so I'm going to do a warm up assignment using materials I already have. Join me if you like.

Two years and two months ago, I had a baby shower for my eldest, Iris. My mother, from whence my creativity springs, made me an umbrella (apparently a shower tradition) in keeping with my rain forest them. This is what it looked like:

Of course the minute the shower was over, I'm ripping off these hot glued items so I could use them for crafty projects. Most of the stuff is still in storage, though I did use a lot of it for Josephine's Rainforest Adventure:

Anyway, because I still have these materials, my warm up will be making a doll plant. This is only the warm up because I don't feel like doing the doll greenery chapter yet. But stay tuned. I'll be doing some topiaries or hedges. I sure hope those big leaves work...

So join me as I do Party Dolly's Palm Tree Tutorial from the Legendary Tutorials doll board.

I have until May 13th to complete this. Yes, two weeks is a long time for what most of us can finish in a coupla hours. But with kiddies around and having to clean my work area to take pictures, here is where the flexibility comes in handy. But I will post as soon as I finish, I won't wait.

I also realized that I never posted my list of assignments. I'm adding more day by day. Feel free to add to the list. Some of these are existing tutorials but many are not. I'll follow the format I did here. I'll post the assignment, give you the deadline, then I'll post my experience with pictures. Even if the pictures are at the kitchen table or in bed next to a sleeping baby.

I do think the first chapter is going to be rerooting. I'm really excited about that. So grab your fake hair and I'll meet you back here in two weeks.

Future Assignments:

Reroot 3 dolls using 3 different methods
Style and cut each in 3 different ways
Color hair (not necessarily on rerooted dolls) using food coloring, acrylic paint or RIT dye
Construct room box of wood including window cuts
Create anything, furniture, props, room, whatever using only what you have and never use
Open a doll box without destroying it.
Create some printies.
Make asset of bedding
Create 5 doll drinks
Make flagstone flooring
Make three doorways: modern, traditional, cottage
Make palm tree plant
Make a centaur
Restore and decorate a plastic doll home. Then sell it. (Final project)
Design and sew Dani’s wedding gown
Use foam care to make optical illusion of another room beyond a room box.
Repaint a doll to resemble a celebrity
Customize two pairs of doll shoes
Create photo spread using 3 dolls with coordinating outfits, including set design
Create a set with a particular theme
Customize 3 doll animals
Construct a piece of doll furniture
Prep and sell doll items on ebay. At least 6.
Make one pair of doll shoes
Make 3 sets of doll jewelry

smooches!
dani

Dolly U. Banners

2011-04-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

While I gather tools and procrastinate about starting my classes, I couldn't resist a little side project.

I wanted to make myself some Dolly U banners. People with sites and blogs always seem to have them, so I thought I'd try it.

So I took a few shots and really got into it, so I ended up doing one for nearly every subject. And some that don't exist yet. And I ended up creating a little doll world for Alanna and getting interested in a different scale altogether. Anyway, check 'em out.