My Doll Haven

Everyone Needs Playtime

In our hectic, modern lives, many of us focus so heavily on work and family commitments that we never seem to have time for pure fun. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we stopped playing.

When we carve out some leisure time, we’re more likely to zone out in front of the TV or computer than engage in fun, rejuvenating play like we did as children. But play is not just essential for kids; it can be an important source of relaxation and stimulation for adults as well.

There doesn’t need to be any point to the activity beyond having fun and enjoying yourself. By giving yourself permission to play with the joyful abandon of childhood, you can reap oodles of health benefits throughout life.

Sunday

The Eyes Have It

No matter whether you are a BJD collector who likes creating your own acrylic eyes, or a vinyl doll collector who likes doing re-paints, here's a little tip that may (or may not) help you.

When painting doll eyes, it's good to know a little about the anatomy of the human eye.

Sclera ~ the white outer layer of the eyeball.
Iris ~ the flat, coloured, ring-shaped membrane behind the cornea of the eye, with an adjustable circular opening (pupil) in the centre.
Cornea ~ the transparent layer forming the front of the eye.

As you can see by the pictures above and below, every eye is different and each one has a combination of many colours, with each of those colours forming slightly different patterns.

The sclera is not actually a bright white, it also differs with every eye, some show noticeable veins while others appear much clearer.

One could study eyes all day and not see two identical, not even when they are a pair. Try it yourself, look your own eyes when you have some free time, I'm sure you'll find them quite fascinating and it will certainly help you understand how to paint them better and make your dolls appear more lifelike.

Monday

Inspiration

People often ask me "Where do you find your inspiration?". Well believe me when I tell you, I don't go looking for it, more often than not, inspiration finds me.

I began drawing at an early age and eventually earned my living as a commercial artist. I realised if I wanted to do well, I had to become fully aware of my surroundings and learn to recognise the beauty in daily life. Over the years, I have found I do this instinctively and when I least expect it, inspiration comes along and taps me on the shoulder.

Quite some time ago, when I used to make teddy bears, I was reading about the English artist, Gainsborough and was inspired by this painting of "The Blue Boy" . . .

. . . to design and make this little soul who is now living with a Swansea family, in the U.K.

Gainsborough also painted the lesser known, Pink Boy which now hangs in Waddesdon Manor, just near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. You can find the painting here. This is my interpretation of this lovely painting . . .

. . . I named him "The Pink Cavalier" and he is now living a lovely life in Scotia, New York, USA.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Disney Princesses

According to Wikipedia, the franchise does not include all princess characters from the whole of Disney-owned media, but rather refers to specific characters from the company's animated films. As of 2017, the eleven characters considered part of the franchise are (left to right below) Jasmine, Rapunzel, Snow White, Mulan, Aurora, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Tiana, Belle, Ariel, and Merida.

The original line-up consisted of princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan and Tinker Bell. Five of them (Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Ariel) were royal by blood, two (Cinderella and Belle) married into royalty, and two (Mulan and Tinker Bell) fit the "princess mythology."

March 14th, 2010: Tiana officially became the first additional character to the Princess franchise, taking Tinker Bell's short-lived place as the ninth member. Tinker Bell was already heading up another franchise started in 2005 . . . Disney Fairies.

October 2nd, 2011: Rapunzel was "crowned" and inducted into the Disney Princess franchise as the tenth member.

May 11th, 2013: Disney added the first Pixar character Merida as the 11th Princess to the franchise.

Whether Anna, Elsa, Moana and Lilo are officially "crowned" is yet to be seen.

These are some of my little Disney darlings who I have been knitting for. I also have Elsa, Merida, Tinker Bell and Arial, but I'm not sure if they will be wearing the same knitted sets yet.

I still need to add Snow White, Aurora and Cinderella, but there's always tomorrow! :)

When purchasing Disney Animator dolls, please be aware there are fakes out there and if you want to know how to tell the difference, check this out!