Picture of the Week Award ~ January 17, 2010

A classic beauty for this week's Picture of the Week Award is a repainted Scarlett "Return to Tara" doll from the Tonner Doll Co. Her hair has been restyled and the gown is a OOAK creation by Alana Bennett of dollfashionsbyalana.com. The photographer/repainter is Boots Villavecer from the Philippines.

When I find a candidate for the Picture of the Week I always send several questions for the artist to answer. Boots was very generous with his time and response so I am going to paste his response here.

I am no professional so I don't have much equipment. The doll here is a repainted Tonner Scarlett "Return to Tara" doll. The hair has been adjusted. The gown is an OOAK creation by Alana Bennett of dollfashionsbyalana.com. It is inspired by a gown worn in Scarlett the TV series in 1994. It is originally in "blue" but via special effects has been made green -- Margaret Mitchell's favorite color.  All factory paint has been removed and I used what I call my special brush from Noel Cruz himself who encouraged me to pursue repainting. Just a Canon Digital Camera IXUS B515 10 Megapixel Camera. I don't use flash, because that creates shadows at the back of the doll. I always use the "portrait" function on the camera and from there, control the exposure because the lights can often be strong. I have 2 table lamps that can be angled as lighting sources. For the backdrop I use large clamps to hold a cloth on the photo. The cloth must slope down have no wrinkles or folds (depending on how the kind of effect you want). If you want some draping soft cloth is preferrable. I don't have a tripod so I have to have a really steady hold on the camera, but that's actually easy with the camera I use. 

Thanks to technology, one can fix the photo using Photoshop CS3. I use "dodge" tool to highlight dark shadows; "burn" tool to darken the areas in the background; the "clone" tool to add details, and various tools under the "Filter" tools to create the brush strokes, the additional lighting. The magic is in a Filter tool known as "Liquify". Here you can fix the hair and the gown if there are unwanted or desired things you want to enhance. 

My real name is Boots Villavecer, from the Philippines. 44 years old, working as a Creative in an advertising agency. I spent 5 years in Publishing and during free time would practice photo-editing for 13 magazines. Among them being fashion and beauty. My website is: http://www.soultalk777.blogspot.com.

Congratulations, Boots, on the Picture of the Week Award!

Hands Across the Water

Do your research!
Click here to learn to find a charity you can trust.

Disaster of Biblical Proportions

As I lay in bed last night surrounded by showcases filled with dolls, it felt wrong.

Preview 2010 Tonner's Antoinette Doll

A few Antoinette and other items were sneaked by the Tonner Doll Co. yesterday. What do you think?

The first three are dressed dolls and the fourth is an outfit and the last is a white mannequin with raven hair.

Dressed Dolls: Tranquil $189.99

Wanton $144.99

Organic $189.99

Fashion: Intoxicating $99.99

Mannequin: Alabaster Mannequin with jet hair. $49.99

Don't forget, your favorite dealer may be one who discounts off retail. Those dealers are the ones to be sold out first.
Check around for your best price.
If you would like to see the other 2010 Tonner previews, click here.

Lady GaGa ~ Who will make the doll?

I want a Lady Gaga doll and I want it now and it had better not be a Barbie Lady Gaga.
I do not know to whom the photo credits go. These are all over the internet and that doesn't make it OK to use them but here they are.

Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® Doll Green Ear Update

From the Barbie Collector website comes this announcement:

Barbie Collector has been looking into reports of Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® dolls developing green ear. What follows is a press release with suggested next steps, should your doll develop green ear...

Dear Collector,

We have learned of a production issue affecting the Barbie® Fashion Model Collection N6594 Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® doll released via dealers in fall 2009.

There have been reports of Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® dolls developing green ear, caused by oxidation of the coating on the doll’s earrings. As we continue to undergo testing, we encourage owners of a Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® doll to contact customer service for a replacement doll or replacement earrings. At this time it is undetermined how many dolls have the potential to develop green ear over time, but all purchasers are eligible for a replacement doll whether their doll is currently affected or not. Please note this is an aesthetics issue only and not a health hazard.

If you are a U.S. collector who purchased this doll through a Barbie dealer, you now have the opportunity to exchange your original doll for a replacement doll.

To obtain a replacement doll, follow the steps below.

1. Call customer service at 1-800-524-8697 by January 31, 2010, to initiate your return. A shipping label will be sent to you.
   
   Please note: If your doll is not affected and you do not wish to part with your doll, you can request replacement earrings be sent to you instead.


2. Pack your doll(s) in original clothing, and ship using the provided shipping label. It is not necessary to send original packaging or accessory pieces. Dolls must be received by February 28, 2010. Any dolls received after this date will not be eligible for replacement.


3. Look for your replacement doll to arrive within 30 days after sending to customer service. Replacement dolls will be shipped based on the date when original doll was returned.

We appreciate your continued support as we correct this production issue.

Sincerely,
Barbie Collector