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.