craft, Doll, monster high, pullip, Uncategorized

Apoxie Sculpt. Everything.

Apoxie Sculpt is soooooo much better than the Japanese alternatives I’ve been trying. True, they’re just two part modeling epoxy and they don’t market themselves as Japanese alternatives to Apoxie Sculpt but they’re what I have been using.

NO MORE!

It might be pricier to buy here but…I’m in Japan. I’m where the sealant of doll choice (Mr. Super Clear) is at all hobby shops. I’m in Model Mecha!

Apoxie sculpt is silkier, less irritating to my skin (I tried wearing gloves but after a while they get in the way) and less grainy.

I only bought one pound (two 8oz containers you mix) and I’m already understanding why people buy four pounds at a time. When you have Apoxie Sculpt the answer is to SCULPT EVERYTHING.

Hey… these shoes don’t really suit Wednesday.

SCULPT SOME SKULLS.

I want a Pretty Pretty Pegasus figure.

SCULPT IT.

Do I really want to try and glue Clawdeen Wolf’s detached wolf ears back onto her skull for Starfire’s ears? No?

SCULPT SOME EARS.

I want to make an Edna Mode dolls but no existing faces really work.

SAND DOWN THAT LITTLE PULLIP AND START SCULPTING.

And, of course, I continue to sculpt my Sakura inspired doll.

The ony thing left for me to figure out what sort of armature and dark magic is needed for me to sculpt a golem that can go to work for me next week while I stay home and create.

craft, Doll, pullip

Holly went roughly.

Doll fixing while cleaning:

Picked up this damaged, unwigged, naked Audrey Hepburn for about 2,500¥

What she’s supposed to look like.

Reality.

She was missing blink bars…which didn’t much matter as is because her eyes had been modified so they stuck out too far for her eyelids to close anyways.

I’d found a listing on Mercari for two sets of blink bars and two sets of eyelids for this generation of Pullip (three-part head with body type 3) for 500¥ MINE!

I found her generation of eye mech at Dollyterria with some large eye-chips the same time I bought her. 500¥ MINE

Good thing too!

Her body was in good shape but I had to figure out what was up with her eyes.

Ok. Eye-mech broken. Replace and save for items that can be used to repair future eye mech.

Eyes…wtf? Some sort of doll eye has been hollowed out and fitted (and smashed) over the eyemech eye area. This is probably the stress that eventually broke the eyemech.

Useless to me.

With Audrey’s face off I took the time to remove the rest of her face. Her lipstick had been removed by a previous owner.

Then I put her eyelids in, put in a new-to-her eye mech, inserted her new eye bars and reassembled her.

The eye chips in the eyemech also stick out a little too much, interfering with her blinks, so they’ll be replaced when I decide how I want to repaint her.

But there we have another doll ready to face-up when inspiration strikes and we still have two pairs of extra eyelids and one pair of wink bars.

Doll, pullip, tutorial

Replacing broken knee joint

Rehab:

While cleaning up my craft room (as part of a Mom/Craftmas is coming I’m also tackling “to do” unfinished work.

This might be my inability to avoid distraction or it might legit be reducing my clutter/ getting things prepared so that craft work can begin whenever I’m ready.

Dal surgery:

A baggie Dal I picked up recently experienced a broken knee joint when I tried to put her in her bunny outfit.

The knee joint broke off inside the thigh….wedging itself there and in the shin.

Upon further inspection i realized that this rescue Dal has forearms and shins a pinker color than her body…so she’s not new to surgery.

I had an extra knee joint from rebodying the footless Monomono/Bedhead Dal, but first I needed to remove the joint.

I took my dremel tool and carefully drilled a hole into the broken off joint. Then I screwed a smallish screw partway into that hole. I used my leather man tool to then pull the screw and joint out.

I repeated the action to the other half of the broken joint.

Then I used my extra joint to thread everything back into place.

Surgery finished, broken parts disposed of, doll ready for future modifications!

craft, Disney, Doll, pullip, tutorial, Uncategorized

Sadness stands

My Sadness has tiny little feet. She falls over easily.

100¥ shop time!

I bought cork coasters, a set of adhesive felt squares and (not shown) a wooden dowel.

I then glued two coasters together and drilled a hole slightly narrower than the wooden dowel. You could easily cut a hole with an X-acto razor. The reason I made it slightly narrower is that cork compresses and crumbles a little bit.

Then, after cutting the dowel, I glued it firmly into the hole.

A few layers of acrylic paint later, I tested it and then adhered a felt bottom to it.

The pole slides up under her sweater, giving her a tripod of stability.

Her toes are up in this picture but that’s easily adjusted.

I could have added a strap under her sweater to more firmly tether her to the base but I haven’t needed it. There was a small earthquake this morning and she was fine.

Concerned, but stable.

I’ve also realized that her shoulder are too sloped to give her a tote bag but I will eventually turn her “Long Term Memory Retrieval” book into something more existentialist and display it on her stand.

I did the same thing with three cork coasters AND a wooden 100¥ coaster. Of course with wood you need to drill a hole the same diameter as your dowel.

I painted the wooden stand and drilled a hole into the dowel. This allowed me to make a “belly chain” for my bellydancer. The scale of the chain is a little thick but it’s what I had on-hand. It has a necklace closure so I can open the chain as needed.

The cork coaster got a ribbon and snap tether…and some dodgy 100¥ ribbon for decoration.

Not bad, three stands for about 400-500¥ total…with leftovers for more.

BDJ, craft, Doll, japanese, pullip, Uncategorized

SD Jargon & Closet Freak Doll Trunk

Doll magazines have a lot of jargon that I’m just starting to grasp. Dolly*Dolly magazines have a lot of clothing patterns for dolls but they usually refer to the specific doll it was designed for…which means I’m trying to learn about other doll bodies to know what will work on my dolls.

One of the doll trunks featured in Dolly*Dolly Vol 4. also has sewing patterns for the dolls shown MiniSD…so I needed to figure out some VOLKS jargon. I promise pictures of a doll trunk follow.

Volks, Inc. is a Japan-based corporation that produces Dollfie, Super Dollfie and Dolfie Dream dolls as well as resin kits and mecha model kits.
Dollfie is one of the brand of vinyl dolls Volks Inc makes. Dollfie is the 1/6 playscale version of Volks dolls which makes them similar in body size to Pullips and Dals or Barbies. They’re generally 23–29 cm (9–11.5 in). Dollfies are intended to to be customized, generally coming with unpainted/unfinished heads for owners or artist to paint themselves.
Super Dollfie (or SD): Are also made by Volks but are a brand of ball-jointed doll (BJD) which means their limbs and points of articulation have ball joints and are all strung together inside the body with thick elastic cord. SD are made of polyurethane resin, a dense plastic with a porcelain-like finish. From this point on all the dolls I’m talking about here will be of that sort of construction (not vinyl like basic Dolfies)   These dolls are much taller than basic Dollfies and seem to come in different sizes: SD10 are 55 cm tall (almost 22”) and SD13 girls are 57 cm (about 22.5”) and the boys 60 cm (about 23.5”) tall. SD dolls are presented at a price-point that makes them targeted at adult collectors. They are dolls designed to be easily customizable (as Volks also makes wigs, eyeballs, optional hands, different chest dimentions and other body parts that can be swapped in and out). They are generally (like Pullip/Groove dolls) sold with various face designs but those can easily be removed and repainted. The doll resin can also be carved and sanded.
Mini Super Dollfie (or MiniSD or MSD) has more child-like bodies and stand about 42 cm (16.5”) tall.
Yo-SD Are even younger looking than MSD dolls. They stand 26.5 cm (10.5”) in height.

ONTO THE PICTURES!

Disclaimer: I am also not a translator. I’m doing this for my Japanese practice but my Japanese translation style is more “getting the jist of it” than it is “accurate”… so if you have feedback please present it with kindness. I want to learn more but I don’t wish to be scared off.

Me and Her: Traveling Doll.
MINI SD * Closet Freak
In this villa she and I can spend our days off, it is my favourite trunk to travel in. It’s crammed full of dresses I love.

small text at bottom

The doll used in this article is one-of-a-kind custom made SD (Super Dollfie) by Closet Freak. For information about the MiniSD head and “Sakura” body used for the base of the doll, please contact Volks. Super Dollfie is a registered trademark of VOLKS inc. all rights reserved.

Original Japanese

私と彼女と旅するドール
MINI SD * Closet Freak
あの別荘で彼女と一緒に休日を過ごすために、私はお気に入りのトランクで旅に出る。大好きなドレスを詁め込んで…

この記事に使用しているSDはCloset Freakのこ個人的なカスタム作品です。ベースに使用しているミニSD健ヘッド・サクラボディについいぇのお問い合わせはボークスへお願いします。

In olden days, young ladies would travel with the dolls they loved. We created a trunk the likes of which the children from good families of the early 20th century would use for their own beloved dolls. So that no matter where they went, their dolls would be with them. When they left for their holiday villa, their dolls would also have their collection of party clothing, play clothes, undergarments, favourite clothing, stuffed animals, toys, and toiletries same way their owners would. The trunk the doll was in would also have a closet, a dresser, and a comfortable bed to relax in. It was with this image in mind that a wood grain box was decided on and then decorated with a drawing of a bird and antique beads. So, when on vacation how does the beloved doll of our young lady spend her time do you suppose? Shall we sneak a peek and see?

古き良き時代、小さな淑女達は大好きなお人形と共に旅に出る。20世紀初頭、良家の子女たちに愛されたお人形をイメージしてトランクを制作しました。お人形はどこへ行くにも、きっと一緒だったはず。別荘へ出かけるときは、ー持ち主である女の子と同じようにパーティー服や遊び着、ネグリジェなどお気に入りの服と、ぬいぐるみ、おもちゃやお化粧道具まで揃えて出かけたことでしょう。お人形を入れるトランクはクローゼットであり、ドレッサーであり、心地よく安らぐベッドでもあります。そんなイメージから木目調でまとめ、表面には鳥の絵を描きアンティークビーズで彩りました。さて、小さな淑女に愛されるお人形の休日、どうやって過ぎていくのでしょう。少し、のぞいてみましょうか？

My notes:
This style of doll trunk is getting closer to what inspires me. It’s part storage and part doll living environment.

blythe, craft, Doll, pullip, Social

Dollyterria haul!

This Friday was my last Friday going to my current therapist.

I’ve been going to her, and taking anti-depressants, since September 2011…when the low of the 3/11 Tohoku quake / Fukushima aftermath just never left me.

I could barely get through a day without crying. I was erratic. I couldn’t fathom what would happen when my seasonal depression kicked in. I’d been scrambling each winter, for 13 winters, to manage my symptoms with journaling, working out, eating healthy, light boxes, yoga on top of working out…and even then it was rough.

My therapist’s father has fallen ill and she’s moving to help her family. She’s set me up. I’ve made reservations for my next regular prescriptions and such. I have letters from her detailing my years with her for my next doctor.

In light of this, when I saw I’d be able to leave work a little early and be in Tokyo an hour before my appointment time…I punched train destinations and times into my train app.

There’d be time for dolls!

Dollyteria!

Specifically a side trip to Dollyterria in Ikebukuro. Dollyteria is a used doll resale shop. It has locations in Shinjuku and Yokohama but Ikebukuro is its largest location.

It’s large by Tokyo standards. It’s taken over two floors, each floor about the size of a dormroom/ budget business hotel….packed with doll parts, doll accessories and dolls in all levels of condition.

Photography, alas, is not allowed.

This trip’s haul:

Naked Pullip doll in a bag! 2,000¥

Original outfit? Gone! Original wig? Gone!

Original lipstick is gone but the rest of the original face paint remains.

That’s how I was able to figure out it is a type 3 body and was originally Holly, a Pullip dressed like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Japan has a soft spot for that movie….Despite it having one of America’s historically gawdafful yellow face depictions of a Japanese character. Audrey and her Tiffany’s look isn’t just beloved, there’s also Moon River. The song is often used as closing music in stores and is inexplicably the “the train doors are open for boarding” cue music at my local train station.

My baggy doll is missing her wink bars (for lowering her eyelids). When I opened her head I realized her eyelids are in there but the modifications done to her eyes prevent her lids from closing. Previous owner just solved that by deciding she wouldn’t wink or blink…and removed the bars.

It seems like the modifications may have put extra stress on the eye-mech, some parts that shouldn’t be extra came out when I opened her skull but that’s ok because… I scored an extra eye mech for 300¥

And an extra Obitsu body for 1000¥

All the bodies in my craft room were legally bought and paid for. There are no bodies in my crawl space.

Last purchase on my spree was…used Blythe wig!

I have a factory Blythe I haven’t customized yet. Blue/green wig seems like a jumping off spot.

I also finished my first Blythe and need to document how Blythe became Aggretsuko soon.

Until then:

See a therapist if you think you might need it
End pill shaming
May all your surprised encounters with headless bodies be dolls or mannequin

craft, Doll, pullip, Uncategorized

Coffee Nook/Doll Trunk half.

Let’s see if I can use my craft backlog of undocumented work to create…dare I say it…multiple entries based on a theme?

Welcome to the rabbit hole of Doll Trunks I’ve fallen into.

Alice was my first entry into the idea.

The two entries for the construction of Alice’s doll trunk are:

The size of the boxes I could find at a 100¥ shop (Seria) determined that my first trunk/container would be for Alice, as only a Little Pullip ( in this case a Little Pullip on a Picco Neemo body) could fit sitting/standing in the boxes…and I had just one. Then.

Later I found larger boxes at Seria and thought AHA! These are larger boxes and a Google search tells me that Dal Dolls are only 26.3cm.

When I got home I learned that my Dals are slightly taller than the 27cm of the inside of the boxes I’d bought. Time to rethink. I did decide that Bedhead/Monomono would be the primary occupant for this trunk.

I decided I still wanted a combined drawer/sitting area, because I like the idea of the trunk containing useful storage space & the only way a doll could fit in the trunk once closed was to create a platform for it to sit.

I originally got the idea for a case where the doll sits from the Angelic Pretty doll case made for Pullip dolls. It has a seat (with extra storage) for the doll to sit in when in transit. When the case is opened the seat can be removed and the space that has been freed up becomes a closet.

I also decided to make the other half of the doll trunk a bedroom with….a Murphy Bed! So when the trunk is open it would be possible to two dolls to hang out if so desired. I’ll cover that room in an upcoming entry…as it is awesome…but it’s awaiting finishing touches.

Here are both halves of the trunk in progress. I’ve included Alice for scale. I finally got around to buying better wood cutting tools at a DIY/builder’s store so this round of measuring and cutting wood for shelves/boxes/bed went smoother.

I worked on the bedroom first and the decor started to take on a very 80’s flavor…which I ran with. I decided that I wanted the sitting nook to be inspired by 1980’s kitchens and found some inspiration photos that reminded me of the kitchen floors of my youth.

Browns, yellows, and orange! Hints of leftover avocado green from the 70’s still hanging around. Medium to dark woods!

I’d also found a magnet shaped like an espresso maker so my nook would be dedicated to COFFEE DRINKING! Were espresso makers very 80’s? I didn’t care. I feel strongly about coffee.

I once more went to the 100¥ shop and found a small trunk I could saw open to make tables and some adhesive finishes in fake wood/ fake reddish leather/ burlap with leaves.

I experimented with painting the burlap finish to bring it slightly more into the color theme I wanted. It became the drawer cover and the kitchen wallpaper trim.

Then I set about to sawing the mini-trunk into pieces and covering and gluing bits together. I used fake-wood washi tape for an edge on the wallpaper trim. I also admitted the green ceiling had worked fine in the bedroom but that this kitchen was a breath away from having had popcorn ceiling panels…so I went with a few layers of white acrylic on the ceiling. I painted the inside of the drawer and put adhesive corkboard inside it. Then I used a dremmel to create a small hole in the drawer and glues the shank of a button I had on-hand to work as a drawer-pull. This also helped tone-down the too-bright green hue I’d accidently applied to the drawer fabric.

I thought about adding a hanging fern above the coffee machine…as I encountered an alarming amount of 1970’s and 80’s hanging ferns in various macrame hangers while image searching for ideas. I have a mini hanging pot…

But the Dal Dolls dominate the box in a way that adding a fake potted plants might overwhelm it. Perhaps I’ll find a small fake fern with a stand to slip into the drawer for when smaller dolls are using the nook.

Dolls check out the nook and enjoy some coffee.

Now here’s a sneak peak into the bedroom. I’m debating if I’m still going to attach the two halves or if I’m going to change how the individual boxes close…

Yeah. You want those sheets….meeeeeee too.

craft, Doll, pullip, sewing, Uncategorized

Nah-Atto part 2.

Ok, catching up on two months of crafting is showing me how godddamned much stuff I make. A Japanese bellydancer I’m friends with on FB JUST posted a photo of a Pullip Nah-Atto she saw in a Book-Off and I replied with a picture of my before and after…and was going to send her the link to my blog when I realized I’d NEVER finished documenting this.

Recap: I’m a belly dancer. In late April I bought a used Pullip “Nah-Atto” on the cheap. I gave her a new MTM Barbie body, sewed a more accurate costume, and started repainting her face. All the construction detail can be found here. An additional post I made about getting MTM Barbie bodies for this project and one other is here.

Then life got in the way of blogging and I didn’t keep you up-to-date!

When in my hometown last March I was given a stash of doll clothing, some dolls, and a few doll wigs from my unnamed source. In this stash was a brunette doll wig with a TON of waxy glue in it. I decided it was a little late 70’s/80’s looking and perfect for the dancer look I was going for….and perhaps not totally unlike my own hair.

Over weeks I froze the wig and chipped away at the glue many many times. This is midway through the process.

A pair of eyes I’d ordered from ByByBlytheCo on Etsy arrived. I inserted her new eyes into her eye-mech, inserted new earrings into her existing ear holes, and screwed her head onto her new body.

If you want to know more about the process of creating a hybrid (Pullip head on a MTM Barbie body) I found this well documented blog entry by Sutura Workshop for you.

WIG TIME!

With After and Before photos. Please note that she’s not lighter-skinned in the after face photo, that’s just lighting.

craft, Doll, pullip, sewing

Dal Lipoca

Ebony and I visited Dollyterria again during one of our Ikebukuro meet ups in July. Again, I came home with a new friend.

Dal Lipoca is a 2008 Groove doll release. She retails new/mint condition for about 100USD/10,000¥. My Lipoca was around 3,000. Dolly in a baggie deals! She was FILTHY. She obviously lived with a smoker. Her white jumpsuit was brown. Her hands were stained. She smelled. She was missing her pitchfork.

New VS. Baggie Deal

Who amongst us hasn’t seen some rough times in the last ten years? Some of us just hide it better than others. MINE!

I hand washed everything. The jumpsuit will never be 100% white again. I’ve tried. Her wings molted a bit but they’re good enough for now or until I feel like replicating them. When I eventually copy them, expect that half my doll crew will be sporting wings.

The original wig suited her so I pried it off and washed it (shampoo) and conditioned it (fabric softener) and let it dry on my makeshift wig head (styrofoam ball from 100¥ shop of a plastic bottle. I liked her face and eyes as is, no repainting.

Then it was time to scrub the body. I had some leftover arms from when I replaced Monomono/Bedhead’s body that I swapped in because her hands were permanently tabacco stained.

Here’s a photo of the face with just a quick localized soapy wipe on one cheek.

I disassembled her and washed everything. EVERYTHING.

I’m not against doll nudity but I feel better if the dolls in my room have some sort of clothing prior to their final outfits. You can just tell she has no love for the extra Barbie Gear in my stash. Dal dolls are petulant 24/7.

I found some black fabric with a. red and white lipstick motif…left overs from making to Moana Wrap Dresses. I stitched her a quick skirt to replace the jumpsuit she’d word. I then returned her original outfit to her, minus jumper, and plus a skull hair ribbon. I do love her devil hat…but the others are taking turns with it…and I was drafting some new headwear based on it.

She’s now joined the crew and can usually be found with a coffee mug and one of the many coffee tables I’ve set up.

A friend recently remarked on how she never expected to envy the clothing of dolls…she’d always thought them too…something….but that it did make sense that my dolls would reflect style.

They do, they reflect my style and my life. Which is why I now have a collection of coffee mugs, a few beer glasses, and chairs and tables for my growing collection.

craft, Doll, pullip, Social, Uncategorized

Life in Boxes: Alice

If you’re vaguely obsessive like me…and I’m assuming you’re a little like me…and you skip blogging for two months it can be daunting to return.

Instead of looking at the overwhelming amount of stuff I have to present to you I’m going take comfort in the fact that I’m NOT lacking subject matter. Ill just look back to see where I left off and what I haven’t shared.

Last I regularly wrote, I’d hit upon the idea of making doll trunks/doll boxes out of 100¥ shop goods.

Starting at the 100¥ shop helps me feel like I’m keeping everything under budget and being responsible. That is a feeling, not a truth. The 100¥ shop presents the challenge of how to flourish with outside limitations. I can’t possibly get all the supplies I would ideally want work with there, but I might stumble over solutions I hadn’t thought of.

Some limitations are worth exploring: if the wooden boxes I find aren’t quite large enough for a traditional trunk, but I’ve purchased them anyway, how shall I move forward?

Some limitations aren’t worth enduring : 100¥ wood cutting tools feed off human blood and tears. Invest in better.

This is where we last were with Alice.

Alice enjoys some coffee while I work.

I’d sawed some wood and boxes apart and rejoined them to form her home. I’d made a drawer for her extra items. These small Picco Nemo bodies come with extra hands in various positions that can be swapped in. I thought it’d be nice to have those hands stored with her along with any props or extra dresses I might make.

I’d decoupaged the interior of her room.

Now it was time to give Alice a chair.

I sawed apart a business card holder to make the frame of the chair. This was how I learned about the blood sacrifices and invectives required by cheap tools.

I sewed tiny cushions, stuffed them, and joined them awkwardly together. I now know that I’d be better off shaping sponges or another dense but soft substrate for furniture cushions and then covering them with fabric.

Miniature construction videos on you tube, like repaint videos, are soothing. I wish crafters could get some special versions of a smoke break. Like “hey, give me five minutes to watch something on my screen or knit a few rows…I promise I’ll be a better co-worker/human afterwards”

Chair deemed good enough.

I then finished painting the exterior of the boxes with the decoupage Alice cover. I joined the two boxes together with hinges and a clasp.

Alice lives here now.

I only regret that it’s a little dark in there. Since construction I’ve been playing around with tiny led lights and plastic 100¥ tea lights.

Fliiiiicckering Alice.

Where it started.

Where it ends. The Professor is leaving before a game or croquette begins.

Ps. You really should watch the Royal Ballet doing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Do It Yourself: WFU

The dolls and art of a woman in Japan trying to be better.

Category Archives: pullip