An Old Tag from The Wayward Inn

1. List your current BJD family.

My list of BJD's is currently sitting at 80 (they are listed here). Every year I say "no more", but I have absolutely no idea when the compulsion to purchase just one more doll" will finally dissipate. So far this year I have not been tempted by any BJD's.

2. Who is your newest doll?

My newest doll isn't a BJD at all . . . she's a Vestida de Azul doll and stands just 28cm tall (3cm taller than a Little Fee, or half way between a Soom Neo Angel Region iMda 2.6 & 3.0). These little dolls are less expensive, so they don't dent my budget at all . . . and there is very little waiting time until I get my hot little pinkies on them!

3. Who is your oldest doll?

Jax is my oldest (Doll Leaves 1st Anniversary Event Rabbit, Normal Skin) he arrived 4th August 2012. I had not seen a BJD before and he took me quite by surprise, he's quite a cute little bunny.

4. Your favourite doll company?

This would have to be Fairyland. Their sculpts fit my stories better than any other and their dolls pose so well. Being a daydreamer and a big fan of any type of fantasy, I am particularly enamoured by the direction the company has taken with the introduction of the RealFees and Fantasy Art Line.

5. Least favourite doll company?

There are two least favourite companies . . . Supia and April Story. This is certainly not be because of their sculpts, they are really quite beautiful . . . it's because of their service or perhaps I should say, the lack of it. Companies/artists that offer bad/no service no matter how lovely their dolls are, don't last long in this arena, the competition is strong and there are plenty of other companies/artists that are willing to look after their customers.

6. Grail sculpt? Do you own them?

My grail sculpt has been and gone from my wish list. For a long time, I wanted to add a Peaks Woods A.B. Bella the Moon to my collection, though I doubt if I will ever purchase her now, as I have gone right off collecting large dolls, I find them just too difficult to handle..

7. Favourite aesthetic?

This would have to be face and hands. I tend to purchase a doll by the way it "speaks to me" and tugs at my heartstrings, then I look to see if the hands are elegant. I dislike stumpy fingers or hands that are out of proportion.

8. Where do you get your inspiration from?

Now if you are wanting specifics, the answer would depend on what in particular you're asking about. However, in general, my inspiration comes from books I read, fabrics I purchase when I'm out shopping, sometimes it comes from a doll, or simply by allowing my own vivid imagination to wander. I think one needs to keep an open mind and let everyday things like a walk in the park, autumn leaves, or a rainbow inspire us in one way or another.

9. Favourite thing about the hobby?

I had to give this some thought, and to be completely honest, I cannot choose a single thing. It's really a combination of things, rather than one thing in particular, this hobby encompasses so many different avenues of enjoyment. Sometimes it's the dolls themselves, other times it's dressing them (either by sewing, knitting or shopping for them), writing their stories, photographing them and sharing the hobby with other likeminded people.

10. Least favourite thing about the hobby?

(a) Suppliers who continuously lie about delivery dates, giving you hope, then letting you down when it doesn't arrive, not just once, but time and time again.

(b) The recaster leeches who pray on other people, stealing their ideas and their livelihood.

Tagged Again

I was tagged once again with a slightly different Liebster Award by Farrah Lily of Cosy Comforts & Dolls  (thank you for the tag!)

I would think most of my readers have probably heard of the Liebster Award before, but for those who haven't, it’s a fun award to give to blogs you enjoy, that have fewer than 1,000 followers. If you’re chosen for an award, and if you choose to accept the award, there are a few rules:

1. You have to link the person that gave you the award
2. Answer the questions they’ve chosen for you
3. Pass the award along to more bloggers who have less than 1,000 readers/followers
4. Ask them 11 questions
5. Let them know you’ve given them the award

1. Who is your favourite cartoon character?

I've never really been into cartoons enough to have a favourite, but Sylvester would come close.

2. What’s your favourite flower (or plant if you’re not a flower person)? I have several favourites. Lilacs, Sweet Pea and Lily of the Valley because they remind me of my childhood, my Gran grew them in her garden. For fragrance in my garden; the Double Delight rose, it has the most beautiful perfume. For a cut flower; Gerberas, they are so cheery and welcoming.

3. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

I'm quite adventurous when it comes to food and enjoy trying different cuisines, but I can't say I have ever eaten anything weird.

4. What was the last movie you saw (at home or in a theatre)?

Friday evening I watched The Butler, it had a great cast, but I was a little disappointed that Alan Rickman didn't have a longer playing role, he only appeared towards the end of the film.

5. If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?

I could visit any country, but I'd prefer to see more of Australia. This is a big country and there is heaps to see and enjoy here. However, if I had to travel overseas, I'd probably choose Japan or the UK.

6. How did you meet your best friend?

My best friend is my hubby and met him at a wine tasting. My best girlfriend, I met at work and we have been friends longer than I care to mention. :)

7. What is your dream job?

Hey I'm retired, what more could I ask for? I've had all the dream jobs I could wish for and thoroughly enjoyed them all.

8. If you could make a custom doll based on any character or real person, who would you make?

I have absolutely no idea at this point in time.

9. What’s your favourite season? Definitely summer, I hate the cold!

10. If you could talk to/understand any one species of animal, what would you choose?

My dog Coco, I talk to him all the time and when he looks up at me, I know he's trying to tell me something, I can see it in his eyes. Most of the time I can read his body language, but there are times when it would be wonderful if he could speak.

11. If you could instantly learn any language, what would you choose?

French, it's the only subject I failed at school!!

I am not going to tag individual blogs this time, I'll leave it up to my readers to decide if they want to do it again, the questions are different this time. :)

Keeping with the same as I was given, here they are ~

1. Who is your favourite cartoon character?
2. What’s your favourite flower (or plant if you’re not a flower person)?
3. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
4. What was the last movie you saw (at home or in a theatre)?
5. If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?
6. How did you meet your best friend?
7. What is your dream job?
8. If you could make a custom doll based on any character or real person, who would you make?
9. What’s your favourite season?
10. If you could talk to/understand any one species of animal, what would you choose?
11. If you could instantly learn any language, what would you choose?

Thanks again for nominating me, Farrah, these questions made me think, but it was fun all the same!

Liebster Award

I was tagged the Liebster Award by Alasse from The Wayward Inn  (thank you for the tag!)

The rules:
1. Thank the person who presented you the award and link back to their blog.
2. Post the award image on your blog.
3. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter.
4. Nominate 5-11 blogs with less than 200 followers.
5. Create 11 questions for the nominees to answer.
6. List these rules in your post.

7. Inform the people you chose of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog and link them your post.

My 11 Questions from Alasse:

1.What drew you to the hobby? I used to sell Blythe doll clothing at the Melbourne Doll Market and it was there I first saw Indollgence and fell in love with a tiny bunny named Jax. I hadn't seen BJD's before and was so fascinated I began searching for them online ~ the rest of course is history!!

2. What was your first doll? Why did you choose that one? Jax and then Fairyland's Puki Fee Ante. It was their cuteness, which kinda took me by surprise, I'm not normally a cutsie person at all.

3. What was your 2015 doll regret? Probably purchasing from April Story. The whole transaction was a headache and by the time I received her it had left such a bad taste, I was over the doll completely.

4. Did you sell any dolls in 2015? My Coco head, if that counts and a few faceplates and most of my Blythe collection.

5. Do your doll characters have their own theme song? Not really, unless you can count "If you go down into the woods today", LOL!

6. What style best describes your doll collection? (Fantasy, goth, punk etc.) Definitely fantasy, probably because I'm a dreamer, although I love many other styles too.

7. What sort of aesthetics do you look for in a doll? In a word "symmetry".

8. Have you built or plan to build any dioramas for your dolls? Have attempted a couple in the past which haven't been as satisfactory as I would have liked, hence they have ended up being binned! Am currently working on one, which for the first time is progressing the way I want . . . finally I think it will be a success. :)

9. What is your 2016 doll wishlist? I haven't really made a proper wishlist for this year, though I am interested in adding another RealFee and perhaps a couple more Doll Be With You tiny dolls.

10. Do you have a 'fantasy' wishlist? (ie. dolls that you will never own unless you won lotto etc.) No not now. I think this past year has helped me refine my collection, so now I am settled on collecting tiny dolls,  which are quite affordable, I can pretty much order what I like.

11. What do you love most about the hobby? Mostly I love the versatility of it, it's a combination of hobbies within a hobby. It's not just collecting dolls, it's sharing the interest with a whole lot of lovely people who enjoy the same interest. It's the sewing, knitting, reading and writing blogs, the photography and the story telling. I think this is the best hobby anyone can have!!

My 11 Questions to those tagged are the same as Alasse gave me:

1.What drew you to the hobby?
2. What was your first doll? Why did you choose that one?
3. What was your 2015 doll regret?
4. Did you sell any dolls in 2015?
5. Do your doll characters have their own theme song?
6. What style best describes your doll collection? (Fantasy, goth, punk etc.)
7. What sort of aesthetics do you look for in a doll?
8. Have you built or plan to build any dioramas for your dolls?
9. What is your 2016 doll wish list?
10. Do you have a 'fantasy' wish list? (i.e. dolls that you will never own unless you won lotto etc.)
11. What do you love most about the hobby?

As most of the people who's blogs I read seem to have been tagged already, I will not be tagging so many this time.

Sharon from Sharon in Spain
Lene from Dustbunnie's Dusty Doll Dungeon

Spooky Halloween Monster Tag

I was recently tagged by the charming Alasse from the Wayward Inn and although I have other things that could use some attention (like my poor paint peeling garden pots), I thought it would be an enjoyable break from the real world to have some fun with this meme. :)

Werewolf – How has the hobby “transformed” you? I have always been a collector, and although previous treasures have been pleasing to the eye and decorative around our home, they have always been static. I find BJD's very tactile and they have quite quickly taken me on a journey around the world and introduced me to some wonderful people. BJD's have also opened doors to exciting new interests, (all of which I am still exploring) and have renewed my enthusiasm for photography.

Vampire – The dreaded sun! How do you feel about and cope with yellowing, or more generally the ageing of these dolls? I purchase my dolls to enjoy, so they are always on display, ready for me to pick up and play with. They are in a room with the blind down to protect them from direct sunlight and all our windows are UV-A tinted, but if they mellow with age so be it, after all aging is just part of life, nothing stays like new forever.

Frankenstein’s Monster – Have you ever modded a doll? Tell us about it! If you could magically try any mod without fear of failure, what would you like to try? Yes, I have modded dolls in the past, but not any BJD's. To be honest I'm not sure I would want to mod a BJD, though I do own a couple with modded ears, but for the most part I like my dolls as they are. One day I'd love to sculpt one.

Zombie – Have you ever caught the Marketplace virus?? Name some unplanned purchases that jumped out and “infected” you? OMG there have been so many, but not so much from the Marketplace, mostly direct from suppliers. My recent being the two FL RLF human Mari's in pink and tan, I really had no intention of purchasing them when FL released the mermaid, I just wanted the full set in normal skin with the clear pink tail. However, the thought of two little girls with different colour skin really “infected” me and caught me quite by surprise!

Skeleton – What’s your favourite body sculpt? Forget heads! I don't really have a favourite body sculpt, although I have a leaning towards anything FL because they pose so well, but my favourite body part would have to be Peak's Woods special hands.

Witch – Name some dolls that are magical! Seeing them on your dashboard inspires you! Can be general sculpts or specific dolls owned by talented friends. My Puki Fees, I just love them so much. They sit on a little shelf beside my bed, they are the first thing I see when I wake and the last thing I see before sleep. If I'm ever feeling down, I can count on them magically cheer me up in no time at all. As for other people's dolls, well there have been several over the years, probably too many to mention here!

Photo: Peak's Woods

Ghost – The one that got away. Do any limited or rare dolls “haunt” you to this day? Oh yeah, I completely missed out on getting my grail doll ~ Peak's Woods A B Bella the Moon. She had been on my wish list for such a long time, but I kept putting her off because I never quite had enough money to purchase her outright. I also kept falling for new, less expensive dolls which didn't help matters, so when I finally had enough money to bring her home, she was no longer available.

Freddy Krueger – What is your worst doll nightmare? Has it happened or not? Losing all my dolls in a house fire! Especially the limited ones, as they could never be replaced.

Nanette's New Dress

Jason Voorhees – If you were gonna make Halloween costumes for your dolls (or if you plan to!) what costumes would you make? Not sure if I want to go there today, I have designed a few, but none that I have been completely happy with.

Chucky (possessed doll) – Have you ever been scared of dolls or a certain doll? Be honest! Maybe scared isn't quite the word I would use, but I do detest those ugly ventriloquist dolls, they really give me the creeps.

Now I believe this is where I'm supposed to tag a few more people, but most of my blogging friends have already been tagged. However, if you have been accidently overlooked, please feel free to join in and have a go at it yourself.

Lene at Dustbunnie's Dusty Doll Dungeon
Lily at Genwaku
Sam at Days of Our Little Lives

Tagged!

I was recently tagged by J.S. from Toy Box Revenge with this question meme, and as I very rarely reveal anything much about myself or my reasons for doll collecting, I thought it a good opportunity to share, so I'll just get on with it.

1. Do you collect anything other than dolls? Yes, teddy bears, books and odd pieces of antique furniture. And fabric of course!

2. Why did you start a doll blog? I wanted to write a journal of sorts and have a place where I could share photos and day to day happenings with my long time friend Diane, who lives in the country and my favourite aunt in the UK. Though with the addition of more dolls, it's evolved quite considerably into what it is today. Blogging has opened up a new world filled with other likeminded people, who I really enjoy chatting with almost on a day to day basis.

3. Do you have one particular doll that is the favourite in your collection? Not one in particular, more like PukiFees in general, they seem to like following me around the house a lot and I often find myself talking to them when no-one else is around. I'm sure if anyone, other than a dolly person, saw me they would think I was completely bonkers!!

4. Your favourite doll accessory? This one's an easy one to answer . . . shoes and wigs, I have a pretty great selection of both. I consider myself to be the Imelda Marcos of dolls shoes. The PukiFees have the most shoes and wigs, but the others have their fair share too.

5. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection (you don't have to tell the number of course)? Yes I do, but I dare not mention it here. I began by telling hubby I will just order one, a PukiFee and of course everyone knows you can't possibly stop at one PukiFee!! I have made a firm decision though . . . I WILL STOP THE PF's AT AN EVEN DOZEN. You may notice I said little about all the others. :)

6. Do you play any instruments and if so, what? No, but I always wished I had learned to play the piano when I was young. Unfortunately, at my age now, I don't have the patience to sit still long enough and practice every day, so we have a pianola instead. My hubby usually plays it on Sundays and there is something quite relaxing about the tinkle of the ivories.

7. Where is your most favourite place you've ever been? I have travelled overseas, but nothing compares to Australia, there is so much to see and do here. I enjoy the warmth of Queensland in the winter, cruising on the Paddle Steamers along the Murray River, the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, the wonderful beaches of Western Australia, especially those around Albany and Denmark, the fine restaurants and live music venues of Melbourne, but most of all the quiet pace and scenery of Tasmania.

Gardens just outside of Burnie

Darwin Dam

Between Derby and Bridport



8. What is your most favourite thing about yourself? My imagination!

9. Favourite book or movie? This is a hard one to pin down, but I do like reading about fashion designers from the past, and watching movies that take you back to your childhood, or another world. More recent movies I enjoyed were ~ "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and it's sequel, I have to admit I am very partial to movies with Dame Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy in them, and having all three together in one film is absolutely superb!

10. If you could design your own doll, what would it look like? It would probably be an older girl or young lady who was tall, slender and elegant, so I could dress her in something really stunning.

Now I am supposed to tag five more people, as always, no pressure to do it if you're not into doing these things, after all they are supposed to be fun! Here we go in alphabetical order ~

Alasse at the Wayward Inn
Alejandra at Fantasy Woods
Lene at Dustbunnie's Dusty Doll Dungeon
Lily at Genwaku
Sam at Days of Our Little Lives

If you are interested in playing along (and this is for anyone else who enjoys these and wasn't tagged as well), the questions are:
1. Do you collect anything other than dolls?
2. Why did you start a doll blog?
3. Do you have one particular doll that is the favourite in your collection?
4. Your favourite doll accessory?
5. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection (you don't have to tell the number of course)?
6. Do you play any instruments and if so, what?
7. Where is your most favourite place you've ever been?
8. What is your most favourite thing about yourself?
9. Favourite book or movie?
10. If you could design your own doll, what would it look like?

Versatile Blogger Award given by Nymphaea

I must say I was honoured to receive this award given to me by Nymphaea of The Doll Barn and sincerely thank her for thinking of me.

However, it appears there are rules one must attend to before one can accept it. One must choose 15 bloggers to pass this award on to and tell the award giving blogger 7 things about yourself.

I'm not sure I can fulfill the requirements at this point in time, so I hope everyone will forgive me. I promise I will attend to it down the track.