Let’s hear it for good workmanship!

By the time the night before the studio anniversary show rolled around I felt like I’d been altering costumes forever, before even tackling my own.

It wasn’t forever but I had altered three costumes for my dance partner and had a student who’d bought her first ever costume. It was new to her but previously owned and..well..WORN.

My students had been worried about finding any costume because she’s chubby by local sizes and already had a lot of insecurity around showing her body. I wanted it to be as fixed up as possible so she could enjoy wearing it and focus on her dancing. For three lessons she’d bring her costume, and before and after the lesson, I’d see what work was to be done. Each time I did a fair amount of sewing to show how to do the work (explaining sewing and alterations purely verbally to someone who doesn’t sew is hard enough in one’s own language, I didn’t think it was worth it to try) and send her home with more pins in her costume.

On the eve of the show I had to make sure that I had a costume that would complement my dance partner’s choice for our duet. She still can’t locate her duet costume so she’d be wearing another bra/belt I made in 2006 that she now owns. Luckily I’d made that costume for myself, in colors I know work for my completion, and had other handmade choices in similar colorways.

My bra/belt from 2007 would work. It’s an example of me playing with layers of plastic lamp-fringe, ribbon, and Kuchi jewelry embellishments to make a light-weight, quick-to-sew, “Tribaret” (tribal-inspired cabaret) costume, the sort I used to wear more often.

It still fits but the bra edge has always been a bit shallow so I added to the cups on Saturday night. The edge looks floppy here but when filled with cleavage it does the job.

The show opened it’s doors at noon, a lunchtime block, so I had to be there in make-up by 10:30. Well, I didn’t officially have to be there in make-up…but when you know a place is going to be crowded with dancers getting ready, probably poorly lit, without enough mirrors it’s best to come made up.

A student show isn’t a place to spend time doing my own face anyways. My job before a student show is to have supplies on hand to add MORE make-up to student faces: add highlights here, a pop of color there, help with false eyelashes until everyone feels lovely and confident.

Then, after we’ve checked blocking and made sure everyone knows the schedule, where to enter and exit the stage and such, I run around with safety pins double-checking the fit of everyone’s costumes.

It’s only after that when I can catch up with the other teachers, my dance partner, our guest musicians/dancers and such…and then worry about my own costumes.

Of course, my costumes are then under a groovy cover-up until stage time. Other people choose Middle-Eastern cover-ups. I raid Mrs. Roper’s closet.

The first set I watched my students perform my veil choreography and then got ready with my student of 8+ years, Yuko, and Jnana (a former student and now teacher) for my Turkish Roma choreography. My skirt, vest, and belt are all self-made.

Second set meant changing for my duet (and unfortunately missing other students who were performing a finger cymbal choreography I taught in a workshop last year) and performing with H.

https://videopress.com/v/y9RGpRyJ?preloadContent=metadata

Duet

The final set I could get back into quirky teacher garb and just enjoy.

Here I am heading back to my home with two bouquets of flowers from students and peers.

On the train home there were a groups of JR school girls on some sort of team low-key freaking out about me. I tried to ask why (in Japanese), they then asked me if I was Japanese and I replied that I’m American and they squealed more and I didn’t ask anything else.

The last time I encountered a similar reaction, and pushed for an answer, it turned out to be girls who thought I was a Tokyo Disneyland/Disney Sea face character actor getting off my shift. It’s not a crazy assumption to make on the train line that serves both parks…except that time I wasn’t one of Ariel’s sisters, I was just in very tropical dance face.

This time, if that’s what they thought, I can only wonder if they thought…

Because Evil Queen, or Lady Tremaine, are the only face characters this make-up would have explained. ..And I was in all black .

Disney, Doll, Uncategorized

Build me up, Buttercup

When Powerpuff Girls hit big time in 1998 it made and impact on me and my female friends.

We were recently out of college or finishing up. You can’t tell me that we WEREN’T the key demographic…I know that we were in my heart and because by the time it was on video I worked at an independent video store and had seen the promotional goods and screeners and the info that went with them.

Kick-ass female cartoon characters were still few and far between. We had to make do with a single female ass-kicker in a group of men OR turn to Japanese Anime. Three powerful little girls? YES, PLEASE. Did we discuss the dynamics of which character we strongly identified with? YES.

I was Buttercup. It wasn’t up for debate. I didn’t have to argue for it. It was known.

Strong temper? Not a morning person? Blunt? Not the best impulse control? Somehow loved despite that?

Me in the late 90’s. SEE?

While I am now more of a Buttercup/Blossom hybrid, I didn’t see that shift coming. Shout-out to medications that help me be more level-headed and not ALL id.

Last year I completed Blossom and Buttercup’s faces and hair. I realized today that I’d not shown you that. Last I shared Ariel and Snow White were still detached heads, getting bangs and the start of the Blossoming.

And this is Blossom now:

Buttercup has also finished with her face-up,this is an in-progress shot to show the lip-scar. I figured she’d be the one most likely to have split a lip or sport bruises.

And her head returned to her body.

I’m a little nonplussed with the dresses I made. I think they need to be cuter with fuller skirts.

And that has left Bubbles…in the corner.

I’d picked an Aurora doll…but her hair part wasn’t right. I figured I’d make her a wig, but hand sewing a wig is something I haven’t found a great tutorial on. Progress has been spotty. The wig shown was a Mercari buy so I could harvest cheap wefts.

In the interest of tackling unfinished projects instead of starting new ones, I’ve decided to go another direction with her. Stay tuned.

craft, Disney, Doll, sewing, Uncategorized

Power Puffing

Where have I been? I’ve been doing my summer thing. I’ve made a lot of stuff, done some social things, and visited America for 12 WHOLE DAYS.

And now, with my day job lurking beyond this weekend it’s time to start catching all of you up on my projects.

First up we have a work in progress: Powerpuff Girls.

I have a ton of Disney Animators dolls so Ariel is becoming Blossom, Snow is Buttercup and Aurora will be Bubbles.

First I had to clean them and do many days outside with 10% Benxol Peroxide acne cream to remove stains.

Which brings us to hair.

I’m ok with Blossom’s hair being more red than orange but neither Ariel nor Snow have bangs.

Which meant removing heads in order to properly root some bangs in.

I had to do the same thing with Snow. I also figured there are two waysI could interpret Buttercup’s hair. It can be slick with the up wave at the ends or I could make it more of a messy curly bob as her out of place hairs and morning illustrations suggest. I’ll be going team curly. Why not? More variation.

Aurora/Bubbles. Her hair just didn’t have the right part to do ponytails AT ALL AT ALL. I’ll work at making her a wig because I am never going to reroot a whole ‘nother of these heads. I’m sewing my first large wig cap for her, as I couldn’t find a light colored 13inch doll wig cap available online in Japan and I have stretchy nude fabric in my stash.

I’ll be buying a used wig of Mercari here later to remove blond wefts from, cheaper than buying them new.

And I’ve started on Blossom’s face.

I have already drafted a pattern that’ll work for the dresses, I did that back in the early stages when I thought I’d just learn a bit more about hand sewing by using a book about sewing for dolls….ya know…that thing that lead to all these DOLLS and Repaints.

And that, my dears, is only the start of what I’ve been up to.

craft, Disney, Doll, sewing, Uncategorized

Melody, complete!

I HAVE FINISHED IT!

Last I updated about Melody, as far as my searches show me, I’d given up on dying her synthetic hair. I’d pried her head off and started rooting.

MY GOD, that was arduous. The heads of Disney Animators are about the size of softballs.

Towards the end I realized that the the neck hole was so small, and the area I’d need to secure inside with glue was so large…it was near impossible to do cleanly so I…CUT INTO HER HEAD.

Desperate times.

I finished rerooting the head and the skull flap and secured the hair with Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue. Then I used Liquid Fusion and swearing to fit the head back into place.

I later, after building up enough layed of liquid fusion, painted the seams black. And took photos.

Then onto painting!

I didn’t take in progress photos. This is the final result all at once, with a little outfit I sewed her because I don’t like the idea of sending a naked doll to a friend.

This week I’ll find a box and send her off to Gina and her daughter. And never ever reroot a Disney Animator Doll again.

craft, Disney, Doll, Uncategorized

Snowover it.

Ahh…my first week of relaxation and catching up on crafts, sort of.

Because of how the dispatch company I work at is set up, this year they pulled English assistants out of the public schools a record week before graduation, adding another week onto our unpaid downtime as part-time workers before our contracts begin again in mid-April.

So, I figured time would be abundant and I’d tackle crafts.

I’d also study for the JLPT N2 this year, something I’ve been doing daily since the new year begun but have been afraid to say anything about lest I jinx it.

I decided, last Tuesday, to just tackle another large Disney Animator doll from the BOX OF DOLLS. I picked one of the three Snow Whites I have.

I’ve long thought that Snow White wouldn’t be thrilled with the amount of Snow White merchandise that features apples: apple scented Snow White hand lotion, apple earrings, and so on. If I were Snow White I’d sure have some serious apple-related trauma to deal with. My idea was to keep Snow White herself, but update it to a Snow White who has been THROUGH her ordeals and come out the other side.

I think this is the 1st generation of the Snow White Disney Animator’s Dolls because she has the shortest hair, which was in keeping with the vague idea I had for her.

I pined her hair away, covered her body, and then removed all her makeup with 100% acetone. There were faint hints of where her lip color had been but I’d be giving her darker lips so it didn’t matter.

Then I sprayed three layers of Mr.SuperClear (MSC) UV Matte (allowing them each time to dry) and started with the first layer of chalk pastels.

Then, over the next day, I built up pastels/water color pencils and layers of MSC…feeling MUCH better about my grasp of eyebrow shapes and location but like I need to do some sketch studies of eyes before my next few dolls.

It’s at this point that friends on social media usualy remind me how deeply creepy these images are.

Then came the tattoos. I primed her chest with MSC and got my magnifying set-up out and started to free-hand. Some doll customizers use nail transfers to do doll tattoos but what I wanted to do wouldn’t be readily available in that form.

My friend Whitney has awesome tattoos and the idea of adapting Snow’s bird-buddies for chest tattoos draws heavily from Whitney’s real life ink. Whitney’s birds are more traditional but she has AMAZING Oz-related sleeves…and I have a poppy on my back and use Ozma as a stage name. We met way back in the day on LJ just because of Oz-related icons. More on her later…

This is the tattoo midway through.

As you can see, the sword and the apple are a visal riff on the Evil Queen’s heart box. You know the one she had handy to be all “Hey, huntsman, go kill Snow and THEN put her heart in this decorative heart-stabby box.”…except instead of a heart being stabbed it’s and apple because…well… DAMN APPLES.

Snow wouldn’t be the first person to have tattoos to commemorate what she’s survived. Nor…as I look at the face-up I gave snow…would she be the first person to gank make-up style from a problematic source.

More detail work.

This would be around Thursday, at which point I got an email from my company saying:

Hai!
Yeah.
So…. your next contract? It starts on your birthday. Yay. We’ve cut back your hours even though you were very specific. La la la la la. And we’ve put you in a school situation that you’ve specifically said “NO, Don’t. Nope.” to so there’s that. HAPPY WEEKEND.

Dramatic re-enactment of my reaction to this.

Sure, I was planning for this to be my last year with them. It’s part of why I’ve upped my Japanese study rate and desire to get N2 and eventually N1 certification…so I have more options. But ESCANDALO none the less.

I have since contacted my company with questions…and got a lovely email back that answered approximately 25% of my concerns/questions.

Luckily, my resumes are ALL up-to-date.

Saturday, after teaching dance classes, this is where Snow is. Her lips and eyes have been fixed and glossed. I found a 100¥ bandana print headband and reduced it to her proportions.

Here’s where she started and is now.

And….here is Snow and Whitney…because as soon as I posted Snow, Whitney was all “I love her but she stole my look.” In turn, I stole a picture of Whitney looking very Snow.

I’m currently knitting Snow her own yellow, wide, sweater. Tomorrow, as I take my train to my first job interview, I’ll be bringing my knitting needles to relax my nerves. I also have enough left over denim fabric from making tiny doll jeans to create some jeans for her.

I’m glad I have art supplies to ride out the stress.

Disney, Doll, Uncategorized

Who is the gaijin in your neighborhood?

Hi, Neighbors!

Don’t mind us! We’re just TEATHERED* to the balcony here and slathered in acne cream.

*we get earthquakes. I figured it’s best to tie them for their protection.

I dressed them because I rationalized that seeing naked dolls would be more upsetting for my neighborhood.

These girls need sunlight to clean their face-stains. Well, sunlight and acne medication with 10% benzoyl peroxide. I’m nearly out so Gina is sending me some. It’s not available in Japan.

Cinderella’s stains are responding, slowly but surely.

Aurora? Not yet.

About Auroa’s hair. This was my first very intense boil perm.

Unfortunately some of the curls on the right hand side of the photo were too loose and I’m redoing those looser curls. They’re drying right now.

I thought about redoing them all because she’s alarmingly curly but…I might just turn her into Claudia when I repaint her.

craft, Disney, Doll

BoxDoll: Ariel’s Blessed Hair.

Ariel’s hair abides.

It’s magical. I don’t know chemically or structurally what makes her red Disney Animator Doll hair so impervious to abuse but I am thankful for it.

It doesn’t suffer the frizzled bent shape that plagues other matted colors. It bounces back. You soak, untangle, and go.

Here are two from the box after washing and brushing. One has waves I finger crunched back as she dried, the other has sections I twisted and secured before drying.

They’re wearing dresses because I have grown tired of having too many naked dolls in my apartment as they dry, but this is not their final form.

And, there may be more dolls coming. My father and step mom (who may or may not be my secret doll clothes hookup…but who are definitely the perps who sent me The Thimble People book that got me into doll clothes ONLY LAST YEAR) have sent me a Christmas package.

I wasn’t here to receive it a few days ago but it’s now scheduled to arrive after my three dance lessons and before my gig tonight.

Wish my apartment luck.

craft, Disney, Doll

When the dolls come for you. Boxdolls

“Oh, my apartment is full of dolls. They are waiting for me to come home.” I told a dance student I was giving a private lesson to.

“What’s new?” You ask.

I don’t think you understand. There’s been a major leap in dolls.

Big dolls.

Thanks, Gina.

Gina and I first met on LJ, back in the day, and continued onto FB. We’ve never met but she’s always supported my arts.

She has a daughter now. Earlier this year Gina sent me a few thrifted Disney Animators dolls and I sent her daughter thrifted Pokémon goods.

Now I will be doing a repaint for her daughter and am being paid in…thrifted dolls.

So. Many. Dolls.

Dirty, well-loved, exhausted dolls.

15…I think. Maybe more. Some hedgehog plushies too….and a Wonderwoman.

This is the box that came Thursday.

This is the warning photo Gina sent me.

I have been washing dolls and detangling doll hair since then. I’m not even finished with that task 6 days later. There are dolls in every room.

So it’s time to not only batch attack these dolls, but to figure out how to best try and sell the custom dolls that come from it here in Japan.

I’ve been seeing how the Japanese Mercari app works and copy pasting the descriptions of similar custom dolls to figure out the Japanese I’ll need once I’m ready to post.

Because if I don’t find a way out, I’m going to be buried in dolls.

Dirty, well loved, exhausted dolls.

craft, Disney, Doll, pullip, sewing, Uncategorized

Alice could be living….anywhere.

Last night a friend messaged me to catch up and to let me know he’s read this blog and…”crikey, dolls creep me out!”

Accurate. My humor thrives on discomfort. I’m a cuddly creep, it’s how I get past your guard.

“I was looking and thinking ‘fuck, that’s creepy. Very, very good. But very creepy.’”

And now…he might not ever know where dolls sit in wait…for him.

In the Scammer Aftermath ( http://www.sabrinataylorscams.com )

I made a few trips to Ebony’s place. Taking the train from my area to Ebony’s means a transfer at Ikebukuro, Tokyo….where Dollyterria (my prime location for used dolls and accoutrements) has just expanded to two (tiny) floors of dolls.

While fixing up a Jack Skellington for Ebony, I purchased a used Little Pullip Alice who had seen better days. I can’t resist Alice.

This is what a pristine Alice looks like.

This is what my Alice looked like. She suited my mood perfectly. This is the Alice who, like me, had to explain to her therapist that her mid-month email about the insanity around her and her friends and why she might need emergency medication (full-time scammers/police raids/uncovered lies/ abuse/ torture/ confiscated crime scenes) wasn’t overblown…just accurate.

I removed her scarecrow wig and opened up her head. Her eyes are a little cloudy but someone hot glued them into her skull so I decided not to bother changing them.

In Akihabara I picked up a PiccoNemo body a wig and shoes.

I wanted a brunette Alice because I was

a selfish, brunette, only-child.

I made her a new dress without a pattern. It’s rough around the sleeves because TINY. I put a new front panel on her existing pinafore so it would correctly fit her new body. I embroidered it because I can. I’ll probably make her new white bloomers when I’m ready to work that small again.

That’s a 14cm/ 5.5 inch body.

And I thought I was done…but then I looked at Pinterest.

That’s how the craftsters get you.

And I saw one of Helen CW’s Blythe Doll Carry Cases.

And I posted it on Saturday morning. And my friends whispered, “you must….you just must.” And Ebony shouted “Seria has so many wooden boxes.” And I was shouting, “I can combine my love of making things with my love of being organized?!”

Before I knew it I was making a detour to a 100¥ shop before teaching my Saturday dance lessons.

I got two of the larger wooden boxes, some hinges, wood, and a closure.

Once home, I cut one of the boxes down and sanded it. I made a drawer. There was a lot of sanding and glue. I only have 100¥ cutting tools.

Now. I THOUGHT it was going to be a home for a Dal Doll, because I never measured anything.

Alice fit. It would be Alice’s

I thought a while and decided it would become an homage to the sitting room Alice is in at the start of Through the Looking Glass.

I found some images online and resized them. I picked a cover I liked from an edition of Through the Looking Glass that appealed to me (if I weren’t making it for myself I’d get artist permission, make my own, or go for a version beyond copyright) and raided my stash of acrylic paints.

Sunday, I visited a Book-Off (used books and Magazines ) and bought a used catalogue for gothic Lolita looks (so many Alice references). I found some miniature inspiration at the adjoining Hobby-Off. I hit a fabric store for decoupage paste. At an art supply store I bought ornate origami for the wallpaper. It’d read a bit Asian influenced for England but I figured that with the right surroundings it would just read “Orientalist Inspired”

I also realized that if you put Alice in a doll stand too tall for her, she levitates with great menace.

It’s now Wednesday and the decoupage is nearly done.

I’ll soon be figuring out how to upholster a chair for Alice…but not tonight or tomorrow, as I have relaxing and teaching to do. Expect a final installation early next week.

until then….obey.

craft, Doll, Uncategorized

Ariel from the Box.

I’m now 43. I started using dial-up modems to access local chat lines when I was 14/15. So the raw amount of STUFF, good and bad, that accessing the world from your computer is not new…those early days in fact made me love using e-mail early and often to maintain and grow connections to people I’d met but reluctant to blog or participate in online communities in my early to late 20’s because WHY INVITE MORE DRAMA?

It wasn’t until after three years in Japan, on the cusp of turning 30, that I opened myself back up to blogging to maintain old friendships and express myself…and suddenly make far more connections than I’d expected.

One of the magical things about my years of sharing my thoughts and my assorted arts online has always been the support I’ve found. There are dramatic moments, like people coming out of lurking mode to contact me during the Tohoku quake and nuclear aftermath to tell me what my writing and creativity has meant for me (and, literally, providing me and my friends a safe-house in Nagoya). There has been my ability to network with dancers internationally and teach workshops abroad.

And then there has been the physical stuff.

With my costuming and costume rehab people have contacted me over the to send me fabric stashes, older costumes, newer costume and more…no strings attached…just to see what I make or encourage me to keep making and sharing.

And then there’s Gina and this box of dolls…which won’t be the last box of dolls.

Gina met me on Live Journal and we’re still in each others lives via FB.

She cheers me on and thrift shops for me. I, in turn, bought thrift Pokemon goods for her daughter…but neither one of us is really saving any money on this right now, what with international shipping, but we’re building a friendship and encouraging each other. We’re saying “this and this if you see it but surprise me otherwise!”

More dolls will eventually come and I will custom repaint a doll for her daughter and we’ll both be richer in our way.

Toddler Moana has lead to the wrap dress I designed (and you can make) and is staying her adorable self… at least until I have and idea and skills that will make her even better.

But I’m STILL waiting for some Pullip Eyechips and I still have tendonitis issues and the second half of Japan’s holiday/Golden week is coming so I went BACK to the Box.

Ariel, you’re the next contestant.

Watching repaint videos from South Korea is where I first saw 100¥ socks being used to keep bodies and hair protected from fixative spray. These are 100¥ arm warmer things. This is easier (and far less creepy) than trying to wrap your doll in plastic wrap and tape. Swadling clothing vs. mad scientist.

Working on dolls is creepy. Period. But it doesn’t have to be Peak Creep.

See? Once you’ve used acetone to remove paint off your vinyl doll you’re already near the Creep Summit. I’ve come to love the sculpts on the Disney Animators Collection dolls, from different angles they seem to relay slightly different moods, but no face is no face.

This is when the doll gets her first layers of fixative to create a slight tooth/texture for the pigments to adhere to. In looking at this photo I wish I’d really gotten all the paint grit out of the inner corners of her eyes/under her lashline.

The background you see are the Ikea outdoor tiles for my mini balcony. I set the dolls up on cinder blocks, put my filter mask on, and spray them.

I’m glad I don’t live in the first floor. “Yeah, those foreigners always leaving half assembled dolls on cinderblocks on their yards.

Creepy.

This photo was after I built up the eye whites with acrylics, I wouldlater regret not doing that even more obsessively on the edges, and the eyeliner. I also started putting in the eyebrows with water color pencils and a little bit of shading above the eyelid with sanded pastels an Elf makeup brush I reserve for doll-use-only.

Still creepy. The gunk in the corners of her eyes were making her look strung-out.

SHE’S LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU.

Disney Animators dolls are generally all looking away. Some read more “side eye/that’s none of my business” than others. It took a lot of penciled-on circles and erasing to figure out the placement and size I wanted. I ended with “looking up at you/looking wistfully up towards land” depending on the angle.

I started adding more color to her face with chalk pastels and water color pecil and brush. The irises are acrylic at the base and built up color pencil layers with a few coats of fixative now and then.

I thought I was finished. I even put acrylic gloss on the eyes and lips. There were no added white dots in the iris in the above picture, that’s reflection….

But something still bothered me.

I ended up obsessively sanding her eye paint to remove the gloss and then smooth the imperfections. With a pointed file I cleaned out her eye edges. I gave the edges of her lower eye whites a liiiiiiiitle gray line to create depth/transition . I made the water line more pink and less rusty.

Time to add more eyelashes and some gloss.

I thought about adding fake lashes but when I pressed one in place with my finger (no glue) she looked too pagent-girl.

Added eye-reflection highlights, onto gloss. Soon she would be free of her swaddling.

It was around 11pm when I took this photo in my kitchen. No bands to do her hair and too sleepy to iron her current dress.

I’ve got news for you girl, on land dads don’t always understand and they do reprimand daughters.

But I do have plenty of thingamabobs and I’m glad you’ve left the box.

But between you and me, reader, if I get into rerooting Disney doll hair it will be so I can make a toddler Ursula. Shhhhhhhh.

Do It Yourself: WFU

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

Tag Archives: disney doll