The Minimalist, Dasha and Grand Gesture Dominique

Integrity Toys hit it out of the park with these two dolls! The design, construction and execution of both dolls is superb. And I am happy to say that.
The fabric choices are perfect. The Minimalist's coat is like a fine lightweight wool. The pants and coat have real pockets. The blouse is not a stiff cotton but rather a semi-sheer weave. She's wearing a lacy bra under her blouse which was a surprise! The shoes are fantastic. Pictures below tell the whole story.

 

 

Dominique looks better without her headwrap. Her shoes are to die for with a wonderful elastic across the top which eliminates the need for ties and buckles. I hope we see more of this design.

The color in the shoe image may be slightly altered. Her tiny minaudiere is a weighty solid charmlike thing. All in all - a very worthy package with lovely accessories. These two can be proud to have the Jason Wu name on them.

New Outfits

I was lucky to get one of Huckleberry Jackson's latest creations. I think it's perfect on Flawless Elyse. The shoes are from an FR2 outfit.

Here is Blue Blood Elise wearing her own bustier (in the second photo,) Go West's skirt and Malicious' jacket. I love this sculpt!

Book Review: Ball-Jointed Dolls For Beginners

Even though I have several ball-jointed dolls, many of the terms often seen in descriptions of these dolls remained a mystery to me. I managed to cobble together some information here and there but Alison's book puts it all together in one easy-to-read, 134 page, 8.5 X 11 paperback book.
The table of contents includes, but is in no way limited to, commonly used terms and abbreviations, pricing and quality, customization, how to plan a purchase, maintenance, restringing and information about online connections. The photographs are wonderful. There are scores of full-color images of drool-worthy dolls. Step-by-step illustrations for certain procedures are easy to understand. A sewing project with patterns and quick photography tips are included.
Even if you don't own any resin bjd dolls, you can benefit from knowing about them and how they're made. Some manufacturers are now incorporating ball joints in vinyl dolls. You never know when you will be faced with the decision to take the plunge for your first. Having a little information under your belt makes your decision easier. I recommend this book to all doll collectors. It is available from Amazon.com and directly from Alison at alington@mac.com.

Ball-Jointed Dolls for Beginners: Finding the Doll of Your Dreams. 

Written by Alison B. Rasmussen and Melissa Metheney, Ed. 

Copyrignt 2011 by Alison Boyd Rasmussen

Published by The Fashion Doll Review

Seen On the Boards Today

This delightful photo of her Poppy Parker dolls was posted by LeeAnn (PA) today on the Pink Parlor.

Besides the dolls looking great, I like the program that created an album page with a deckle edge photo and corners. It's such a charming effect and was accomplished by using Corel Paintshop Pro X3 .

Tonner Toys LittleMissMatched on TV

  This email reminder arrived a few minutes ago from Tonner:

Hello, Friends!

We just wanted to drop you all a line to to remind you about the LittleMissMatched one hour special on QVC tomorrow:  Thursday, September 8, 2011, from 1pm to 2pm EDT, and we hope you'll be tuning in!  Update your calendars accordingly!  

We cannot wait for you to see the Gift Set we've masterfully put together, and you won't be able to get it anywhere else, so this is one hour you won't want to miss!  

We know you're super excited about the brand new LittleMissMatched QVC Special tomorrow, and we are, too!  After all, this will be the debut of Tonner Toys and our LittleMissMatched Dolls, so there is much to be excited about! 

Thank you for your support,

Team Tonner Toys

Eshe's Turn in Front of the Camera

Here are a few straightforward pictures of Eshe modeling different wigs. I discovered that she can wear Avantguard's wigs which is great because I have lots of wigs for them.  I am dissatisfied with the curly wig that came with this doll. Just like Grace's wig, it's frizzy with hair going every which way. I did some post-processing on this image and it's still unsatisfactory.

I will definitely not be purchasing any more rooted wig caps.
Here she is in Grace's original wig. I washed and conditioned this wig twice to get rid of the crinkled, messy look. There is not much improvement.

The straight black wig cap had to be shampooed to remove the pomade-like dressing coating the fibers.
It looks good now.

This Joe Tai wig is definitely not for her. She's not a blonde.

Here are two Cheryl Wood wigs which are lovely on Eshe. These are hard cap hand made wigs.

Numina Devon's wig by Patta Art.

Ilaria Time of Doll Wig

Above you can see the bodysuit Eshe came with. She also came with shoes but they keep falling off so I tossed them aside.

I don't know if it's the crappy weather or what but I would be happier had I purchased only Grace. Eshe does not please me. Perhaps when I start redressing her I will warm up to her.  She does have gorgeous hands and luscious lips. In a future post I will review the joints and the posing.

JAMIEshow Grace Tries on Wigs

The 2011 IFDC JAMIEshow exclusive doll, Grace, had her first real photo shoot today. She tried on a bunch of wigs. She photographs beautifully with her high cheekbones and beautifully painted eyes and mouth. Her resin has a satin finish with a good amount of body blushing.
Although she looks amazing in her original wild orange-red wig (first photo below), it's not my favorite type of wig to work with due to the stray hairs everywhere. The same goes for the fourth wig below which is Eshe's original wig. It takes a lot of post-processing to put out a photo that I like.
Both of these are wig caps which are unique to this line of dolls. The caps are themselves rooted and just pop onto the back of the head and are held on by a magnet. They are sold separately for $30 and can be seen at Angelic Dreamz. The red and blonde curly wigs below came with the dolls noted. 

Grace in her original wig.

Devon's Wig

Time of Doll by Ilaria Wig

St. Tropez Eshe Original Wig

Straight Black Wig Cap

Cheryl Wood Wig

Seen on Prego This Morning

Look at this excellent and realistic repaint of Tonner's Stefan Salvatore doll. I think it's fantastic and a huge improvement over the original.

Repaint by Deborah Connelly-Bombich

The artist goes by the board name of Deborah/justCreations. This is some major talent!

Deborah's website is under construction but you can see many of her past repaints there by scrolling down to the Galleries link and clicking on the pictures.

Seen on Prego

Today Jurrie de Vries posted several pictures of  his vintage bubble cut Barbie wearing the Grace Kelly gown from the movie To Catch A Thief.

Photo by Jurrie de Vries

 I like it so much better here than on the Grace Kelly doll.

Mattel's To Catch A Thief Grace Kelly

 The model muse pose is so tiring.  Jurrie's picture has movement. Gorgeous work!

Ways to Waste Time

There's a fun website called Entertainment Earth that sells action figures and other collectibles. You can spend lots of your free time (it won't be free if you start spending) browsing at their offerings. Here are a few cool items I saw tonight.

Doctor Who Eleven Doctors Minifigure Tardis Box Set

Google Android Phone Mascot Mini Figures Series 2 Case

Seriously creepy:

Living Dead Dolls Thirteenth Anniversary Series Set

Dexter Dark Defender 3 3/4 inch Comic-Con Exclusive Figure

These are so cute and I'll bet they're very addicitve:

Kubrick Bearbrick Series 22 Mini-Figures

Oh yes, they sell dolls, too...mostly Barbie, Pullip, Monster High, Tonner, Franklin Mint, Anime and Manga Statues, Bobble Heads, Star Trek merchandise, novelty items, plush, Disney and lots more.

Look at this adorable Pullip Dal Steampunk Ra Muw Doll. She is the cutest Pullip I've seen in a long time. Of course I want her - or maybe just her outfit.

Eshe and Grace

They said I couldn't wait until I had more time so here are my new Jamieshow dolls, Eshe and Grace. Point and Shoot pictures are so pointy and shooty. The dolls are gorgeous and I can foresee plenty of photo spam coming.

JAMIEshow St. Tropez Basic Eshe

2011 IFDC Exclusive JAMIEshow Grace

They are 16" resin ball jointed dolls with removable head caps. These head caps are rooted. They also come with bald head caps. See JAMIEshow doll lines at Angelic Dreamz.

Bats in Their Belfry

It's a cute doll but $75. for a vinyl Barbie?

Halloween Haunt Barbie is the newest Barbie Fan Club Exclusive and will be available beginning 9/8/11.

 

Gold Label®

Designed by: Bill Greening

Release Date: 9/8/2011

Product Code: V0456

 

"No trick here... Halloween Haunt Barbie doll is a treat to behold! The perfect hostess, she's dressed for the occasion in a festive holiday outfit of orange, appropriately adorned with black cats and stars. She adds a wide waist-cinching belt with gold buckle, a black and gold choker, and basic black pumps accented with orange pompoms. Her black witch hat sits atop short auburn hair, and her vintage face sculpt features delightfully dark plum lips. A must-have holiday decoration for any Barbie doll devotee! "

Nude Barbie Basics Photo

For anyone curious about the articulation of the new Basics dolls, here are two pictures. The finish on the vinyl is pretty crappy but they're not going to be used as nekkid models so I don't care. It is true that the doll cannot put her hand on her hip. I still think that this is a 100% improvement over the stiff model body being used on the dolls and I hope to see the unarticulated body banished to never-never land where it belongs. Then...maybe Silkstones will one day get articulation. I doubt it. As long as people are willing to pay upwards of $175. for an unarticulated Silkie, why should Mattel do anything to change them?

Then she got dressed again.

The other thing I'd like to see banished is glitter. Glitter is the scourge of craft supplies. Make it go away.

Barbie, Elise and Veronique

I ordered the new Barbie Basics. I like them. The cost me about $16. each and for that small amount you get an articulated body, nice hair and a Mattel outfit. Not bad. They're fun play dolls to have around. I'm looking forward to taking more pictures of them. The worst thing was taking them out of their ridiculous packaging. A person can get injured removing all that plastic.

Elise told me in no uncertain terms that she will not wear any more boring black clothing. She raided Misaki's stash.
I don't think her sophisticated face and hair go with the pink and orange outfit but it sure was fun.

Finally, I purchased this dress from a gal in or around Czechoslovakia (or somewhere far away like that.)
I love it! This lady shipped the dress so fast I think she's really in Brooklyn. (Actually she is in the Ukraine and her name is Olga Kaltya.)
Here is a rerooted Veronique wearing the garment and looking as gorgeous as only the true Veronique can look. Do you know who this Vero was originally?

Balenciaga Inspired Collection on JAMIEshow

Angelic Dreamz posted a wonderful video using JAMIEshow dolls and Gene dolls modeling the Balenciaga inspired collection from Sandra Stillwell's Golden Gate Event. A video like this is one great answer to the question, "What are dolls for?"



http://youtu.be/5XEBDDuGvps?hd=1

JAMIEshow dolls are available at Angelic Dreamz and there are several fashions remaining for sale directly from Sandra. Links to both of these sites are underlined above.

POWERLESS

Compared to the power of nature there is nothing. We are powerless. Although reports keep saying that New York escaped major consequences, they fail to note that many NY State counties were crippled AFTER the storm was downgraded to a tropical. We watched as our 200 ft tall trees did the limbo in the wind. We heard cracking as a big one went over. The top of one of our tallest pines broke off and fell alongside the stream. Debris is everywhere and we are amongst the lucky in our area. Roads are blocked, bridges are washed away, power lines are down everywhere. In Woodstock, NY alone, no one has power, phone service or any essential service like that. And yet it is a gorgeous day. Above the sound of our generator I can hear chirping and bird songs. A handful of vehicles passes by in spite of the travel ban. I am suffering from True Blood withdrawal. No television. I'm such an addict.

Seen on Prego Today

These gorgeous images posted by Adrian Cardozo really caught my eye this morning. This was originally a RDG Maya head, exclusive to Angelic Dreamz. Adrian gave her a Jamieshow body. The wig is her original wig, headband is Sybarite Moon's,  dress is Numina Asher's,  cinch belt by Ficon, bracelet by Paul Pham and shoes are from an eBay seller called beautytoys. 
The inspiration for the faceup was inspired by Pris (Blade Runner) with a high fashion twist and was successfully interpreted by Kari Denker aka Liquid Sunshine.

I asked Adrian to describe his photo technique for the first image. Here is what he said:

 "Since today is a cloudy day, I took this picture indoors using a mix of lights. I was looking for a warmer feeling. The lighting is coming from below the dolls feet. I found this amazing old style XR reader light (like doctors used to have on their offices) that still works amazingly well...plus one more light from the front.

After I took the picture I simply selected the background in Photoshop and used the motion blur option plus added wind...blurred again and added wind..I like the different texture that creates by doing the same selection several times...."

Thanks to Adrian for sharing his unique doll and creative photo techniques. I love this stuff!

Caption This

A half truth is a whole lie. Yiddish Proverb

Integrity Toy's marketing director sent out an email apologizing about the Nu Fantasy Malicious' necklace not fitting. He could have just said that they made a manufacturing error and collectors have to take off the head to get the necklace on. Instead he proffered excuses along with instructions on removing doll heads.
"because of the shape of the necklace and the materials used, we were limited as far as manufacturing possibilities to make this piece happen while staying true to the design team's original vision for it."

So creative! One can twist words to make a mistake look intentional.
Limited manufacturing possibilities? The design team's vision?
I would say it was a lack of vision. 
Stop the nonsense discourse!  
 

 

Fashion Victim?

I know a lot of collectors who are fearful of removing heads and would never even attempt to do so.