Black Lipstick Gene, Wigs and Props

I was fooling around with Black Lipstick Gene yesterday. She got tired of the 1940's look and I had a modern wig just waiting for a bald head.

It's a Monique Gold wig (http://store.monique.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=monique&Category_Code=WIG-MGC&Product_Code=&Search=&Sort_By=disp_order&Per_Page=-1.)
The wig is called Jade #415 and it's priced at $19.  Gene wears size 4-5. It comes in 7 colors and 5 sizes. 

I do not recommend them for someone who is used to hard cap wigs from Ilaria, Chewin, Patta and the like. You will find that these wigs have a lesser quality fiber and construction. They are not well-styled right out of the box. Their benefits are the lower price of $12-$27 each depending on size and style and they do have a stretch band inside so the fit is more flexible. They come in a very wide variety of colors and styles.

Be prepared to do some styling, perhaps with a hair product and pointy snips in order to get the look you want. I was not pleased with my results as I feel the top of the wig is too pouffy. I would have had to do some thinning.

If you're good at it - this is definitely a great way to go for quantity and choice.

Her glasses are by Horsman for Urban Vita.

 The wonderful drafting table is a Tonner Tyler furniture item. The clip on lamp works. The drawer opens as does the top of the table which is held in an angled slant by a rod you pull up inside. The stool comes with the set.  Recently a nearly new set sold on eBay for $50.99. The seller also included the Design Essentials set which is adorable. Tonner furniture is perfectly scaled for our 16" dolls. It never looks too small.

The sweater Gene is wearing is a handmade product from Retros. The buttonholes are real working ones. I love this item. I purchased the jeans from Marlbe last year. It was a very small edition from Marcelo Jacobs.

The platform sneakers she is wearing are from Ficon. Sadly, I broke one of the zippers. These are fitted inside to support a fashion foot with a built-in wedge. I'd buy a replacement pair in a minute if I could find them.

Another item in this photo that I've used zillions of times is the CED folding screen. There are two in these photos. They are wood with three panels that depict scenes in Italy. The screens are two-sided making them incredibly useful and easy to customize if desired.  Folding screens are an essential tool for a quick photo set-up. They're also easy to make from foam core board.

MetroDolls Proxy Bidding - NOW!

For those who cannot attend who want a chance to own one or more of the amazing artist creations donated, proxy bidding will continue until Friday, October 2, 2015.

All the information on how to bid is here: http://metrodolls.blogspot.com/p/proxy.html

Below are the beautiful items available or proxy bidding. Most of the items are the complete dressed doll. In some cases, the offering is for the wig, the jewelry, the outfit or a combination of those.
The link above will take you to the MetroDolls page which has all the information you need to make decisions and bids.

 I see a three items I'd love to add to my own collection.  Hopefully I will remember to keep track of the bids so I can report back on the amount each item brought in.

If money were no object, what would you like to own?

My Ficon Gals and Brunel Visit the Parlor

I finally finished repainting Caroline's Parlor. It was not fun but definitely worth it in the end.
I used two shades of gray matte finish and semi-gloss white paint.
The window seat cushion is just temporarily wrapped in a scrap of upholstery fabric. I need to make a well fitted cover for that. The curtains will have to go as well. I'd like something more formal.
For the picture over the mantel I printed out several Matisse pictures I found on the internet and picked the one that I liked the best to go in this frame. I attached it to the wall using self-stick velcro squares.
My window view is the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. I loved it because of the cherry blossoms in the foreground in spite of the fact that there is no building that would have this view at this scale.

Furniture is Horsman. The fluffy white rugs are an Integrity Toy's product from long ago. 

The big issue with using a set with lots of verticals is perspective distortion. There are tilt-shift lenses that can automatically correct for this. I don't have one so I attempt to do the correction in Photoshop.

http://digital-photography-school.com/correcting-perspective-lens-distortion-in-photoshop/

http://www.photographyblog.com/articles/why_you_dont_need_a_tilt-shift_lens/


Brunel wanted to show off her new Chanel handbag

so she invited the Ficons for a parlor warming party. They don't get along very well.

It's not your turn to hold him yet. Go away.

Where's the food?

They all wanted to play with the dog; he was the hit of the party. No one paid attention to Brunel or the new parlor at all.

They finally left and Brunel got the puppy all to herself.

 The End of a dumb story.

Mel Odom's JAMIEshow Madra "Spotted in Manhattan"

In a very unusual move, George put this Jamieshow Madra on sale for 20% off during the Labor Day weekend. Her price dropped from $525. to $420. which caused me to take a second look. Actually, the main reason I became interested was that I had seen so many gorgeous photos of her posted by collectors who already had her.
I went back and forth with the decision for about 24 hours and finally decided to go for it. She arrived yesterday and I'm happy I purchased her.
Her face paint is perfect. The resin is the same silky material used for all the Jamieshow dolls. She will make a great model for my collection of Gene Marshall clothing.
There was an issue with her necklace. I sent a photo to George and within a few hours I received a courteous response in which he told me he'd send a replacement out ASAP. As always, the customer service from his company has been excellent.
Madra comes with a ring that matches her other jewelry. It's huge. It could be worn on a chain.
The dress will need a light pressing as the train is packed folded vertically and you won't see much of the leopard print unless you smooth it out a bit.
I also recommend putting pantyhose on the doll as the strap of the shoes may stain. There's a faint line across one of my doll's ankles. You could also coat the inside of the strap with a strip of something flexible.

In these photos, Madra is posing on a Horsman chaise. The table in the background is CED.
I have her redressed already. Now I have to pick out some wigs.

Horsman, Ltd. Christmas in July Sale

I am so bad. I looked through the Horsman items yesterday and although the prices are ridiculously great, I decided to pass. 
Today I was browsing Prego (not a great idea if you don't want to spend $$) and I caved.  I went back to Horsman and ordered their two backdrops, (City Loft View and the Classic Column Room Backdrops,) two pairs of shoes and their well-scaled fireplace. These are for 16" dolls.

Before shipping, the total came to just under $85. The sale offers 60% off of everything on their site, dolls included. I'm not a fan of the Vita doll but if you are...get in there and order one or two. A $200. doll will cost you $80.  Some of the furniture is sold out already but there's still plenty available. I was hoping for the storefront but alas, it was not listed. 

Link: http://www.horsmanltd.com/default.asp

Do let me know if I've enabled you. :-)

Horsman Warehouse Sale on Now

If you need some very fine furniture  seating for your dolls, head on over to www.horsmanltd.com and check out their clearance items. I picked up this French Chaise in sage to go with my two sage French Chairs.

Retail price is usually $90. but with 40% off it drops to $54. If you purchase $250. or more you can have free shipping. Otherwise you will pay about $11.50 for UPS plus your state sales tax. Even after the shipping and sales tax the chair cost me a good deal less than I would have paid at retail.
The quality of these pieces is superb! The chaise comes with a matching pillow. The French chairs do not.

The reason I chose the sage pattern is that I didn't want solid black because it shows every tiny piece of dust and lint. The other color, blue, is not exactly my taste. This is neutral and works in many settings. Above you can see Dasha leaning on the back of one of the French chairs. Although scaled for 16" dolls, if set up properly they can work with smaller dolls as well. Dasha is 12" tall. There are items for the smaller dolls, too.

I had this in my shopping cart but thankfully changed my mind before I was done. I love pink but it's so specific.  It does come in white and black.

There's lots more seating options and, of course, you can see Urban Vita and Rini there as well.

Click here to check out the offerings.