I’ve been sewing a lot in the last week or so! Mostly gifts or trades, though… nothing for me, and nothing to sell. :| But I have made progress on various things… that makes me happy! For example, these trousers.

They’re for a trade – they’re actually for a long-legged SD13 boy. Rory is a normal-legged SD13 boy, so these are WAY too long for him, probably about an inch past his feet. :) I rather like them. The best thing about them is that I finally figured out how to sew the waistband so that they don’t ride down when he sits. This new technology will be the boon of pants to come! *ecstasy!* Rory kinda likes these pants, but I’ve reminded him that 1) they aren’t his, 2) he’s short, and 3) he’s a redhead.

I also worked for awhile on a pair of pants for my new boy. I’m really trying to take my time and do a good job. I feel bad because I don’t make really nice things for my own dolls – the nicest thing I’ve actually kept are Rory’s pants. When I make something to sell or as a gift, I work really really hard on it because I want it to be my best. (Pride’s a bitch). But when it’s just for me and my boys, I tend to hurry through. So tonight I worked on some more intricate inlay and all – it looks pretty nice. And I’ve been double-stitching the seams so they look very finished and snazzy. :) I’ll post pics when it’s all done.

Well.

Today we had an electrician come and look at our outlet. He said it’s fine. *blank look* I don’t quite trust him… but obviously, our landlord doesn’t want the apartment to burn down either, so I have no reason to believe he’s going to leave something dangerous unfixed. He replaced our charred and scarred outlet (I should have taken pictures) and everything seems to be all right now. And meantime, the Good Old American surge protector is busily guarding our computers.

I successfully went to Otsukaya today to get fabric for various projects. I say “successfully” because we went yesterday and they were unexpectedly closed. We were kinda irritated about that. But at any rate, today I went and got the most fantastic fabrics for my dolls. I love them. ;) I can’t wait for my new doll to get here – but being more optimistic, I guess it’s good he didn’t come this weekend, because he woulda been naked, save for the little purple leather shoes that I ordered with him. Heheheheh. Anyway, I got the most wonderful materials. I’ll post pics when I get here and have him in all his finery. Meantime, I also need to sew some snuggy little pants for Friday (she fell in love with some pants I sewed as a gift for someone), and also a clothing set for a trade. Most of the stuff I’ve been sewing lately has been for gifts or trades… I’ve totally been neglecting my own dolls something fierce! Eeek!

I decided I’m gonna get a normal skin Paris and shoes – I think it’ll be the best. I still haven’t read ANY reviews of how the limpid resin takes esthetics, and I think I might want to sculpt onto his eyelids a little – which means opaque resin would actually be the best. So that’s settled. :)

In good news, I also bevelled out the insides of Friday’s eyes. I can’t for the life of me remember what the tool’s called – the only thing that’s coming to mind is “melon baller.” But that’s not it. Anyway, there’s a tool you can get from various places that’s basically a little abrasive ball on a stick, and you just grind away to your heart’s content. She looks much better because 18 mm eyes fit pretty flush in her eyewells now. Woot! I don’t need to be so carefully of the angles I photograph her from.

I also took some yaoi-ish pictures of Rory and Apollo. They’re in the extended entry. Don’t look if you don’t like boy’s love.
(more…)

I am in a bad mood.

We’re having wiring problems – last night, I started smelling burning plastic. Which is, of course, of concern. We couldn’t figure out what it was, then I realized that it was one of our outlets – it was superheating the adapter between our surge protector and the wall. “Eeek!” said I, and promptly turned everything off. I wrapped my sweatshirt around my fingers and pulled out the semi-melted plug. It melted the plastic of the socket and it’s generally bad. If not for our blessed American surge protectors, our computers would have been toast. Anyway, we talked to our landlord today. He said he’d have an electrician look at it today or tomorrow, but meantime we can’t use that outlet. Our apartment is set up in such a way that there’s only one outlet anywhere near where we can set up our computers. So now, we can either choose to have heat or internet.

I’m freezing my ass off.

Today was very frustrating too – nothing worked out. :(

And then tonight I got an e-mail from Souldoll, and they said they’re having serious problems with their limpid urethane. Basically, I have three options:

1. Cancel my order
2. Downgrade to opaque urethane and get $30 back + a pair of shoes for free
3. Wait an extra 20-30 days (I think) and get limpid urethane

I think it’s good that they offer the options, but I don’t know what to do. One of the reasons I picked Souldoll over CP is because of their limpid resin. it’s just so pretty, and I’ve heard such nice things about it. I don’t know if I want an opaque resin doll. And either way, I’m disappointed because last week, they said they’d been shipping him in 10 days. And here it is, 10 days later, and I get a notice for this. I’d been hoping to get him over this weekend. :( So I’m bummed. I wrote back asking if they had any pictures to show the difference between limpid and opaque resin.

I’m also kinda pissed because if they knew in advance that they would be having his problem, they shouldn’t have said that they were going to ship it in 10 days. Meantime, I missed the chance for the other doll I wanted, which was a Dreaming Shiwoo. He’s out of stock now. Fuckin’ a.

Grrr. Being cold and having PMS doesn’t help.

I am, to put it mildly, enchanted.

Tonight, we stopped at Tokyu Hands on the way home….
And they FINALLY had the Rement Kitchen!!!!!!

*dies!*

I bought it immediately because I’ve been planning to buy it since I saw the first pictures… as well as two boxes of little kitchen fun sets ( I got two things of stew, one of which comes witha cutting board and leeks… and cut up leek pieces! *squeee!*). They are SO cute. I’m totally in love. I’ll photograph them tomorrow or so when the light is good.

I think part of the reason I love the kitchen so much is because it looks a lot like my kitchen. Well, in spirit, anyway. The same tiled background, etc. The major differences are the cabinet arrangement and that we have additional counter to the side of the sink. And, well. Our stove is not built into the counter…. but, it does have a fishgriller that looks just like that when it’s pulled out… like I said, it’s similar in spirit. :)

(Please ignore the droves of PET bottles on the counter – PET collection day is still a few days off.)

I don’t get it…

This Jun has 15 bids, up to a total of $2,400.
This Jun has a Buy It Now option at $1,699.

The first one’s seller has a feedback score of 1; 2 non-paying bidder comments, and then 3 positives. Why is that one getting so many more bids? I guess sometimes I just feel like I’m outta the loop.

Meantime, Mandychu ordered an El late Monday night. We expected him to arrive sometime next month, since Luts says on their site that dolls take something like 3 weeks to ship. Imagine our surprise when he showed up on our doorstep yesterday afternoon! That’s just insane!!! Very cool though. We esthetized him last night, and I blushed and coated him today, and did his faceup. He’s such a haughty baby.

This is Apollo. He’s gorgeous. :)

For those who wonder about Luts… a few things:
First, their service is great. They have a sweetheart (Doogie) who handles all correspondence in English. Everything was well-packed and great quality, great communication.

Second, a comparison of resin and bodies.
~The CP resin is pretty similar to Volks old resin… though Mandy’s white-skinned El doesn’t have the yellowy, greeny mozzarella look of Volks old Beauty White resin. It’s slightly yellowish, but not really noticeably when it’s blushed and coated. It’s much more solid and ‘flat’ looking than Volks pureskin, but it’s a very nice weight, texture and quality. (Rory’s really noticeably pureskin next to Apollo.)
~The CP body is really nice. Some of the highlights are the ankle-stringing (no loop, it’s more like a peg on the foot that you loop the string around and then secure with the ankle-piece) and the inner shell-like pieces in the shoulders and legs sockets. These are NICE. The body is more flexible, I think, than a Volks SD13 boy, and the aforementioned little shells make it so there are fewer gaping holes when the doll is in strange positions. The low hip joint makes it so the doll can sit up really nicely. The detail work is NICE as well. The ears are beautifully sculpted and realistic… as are the fingers and toes. The fingers look like they have sculpted cuticles, wow. The negatives? The hand and wrist are joined (no seperate ball for the wrist joint) so the hand doesn’t bend as well. The knees also don’t lock, so standing can be a little tougher. The default El hands include one very beautiful, graceful hand… then one hand that I’ve heard described as the “ball grabbing hand.” It’s a little evil looking. The headcap is held on really well by a having the neck elastic hook go directly to a loop int he headcap. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to get on and off!

Rory and Apollo go together. *little hearts*

And… um. Yeah. Apollo has no pants yet because we hadn’t expected him so soon. Rory has been a gentleman though and has offered him his boxers.

MT… Surpass (my webhost) is apparantly fed up with MT-related problems… and will most likely stop supporting it. I’m very sad. :( But I think I’ll be switching to WordPress very soon. Buuuuuut if for some reason you come to look at my site and find it gone, please be patient, it’ll be back!

For saaaaaaaaale.

Camomile

and

Absinthe!

What exactly does this mean?

“Money that you receive confirmed.
We heartily thank.
Is going to deliver and send about 10 days later.
Wait a little.
Thanks. ^^”

Like, it’s being shipped really soon and will be here in ten days, or it will be shipped in about 10 days?

Hummmm.

And then, this. I stole it from Brent.

A ?_” Accent: American, but lately sounding a little British.
B – Breast size: 34A :(
C – Chore you hate: Cleaning out the trap on the sink. *shudder*
D – Dad’s name: Ralph
E – Essential make-up item: Soft powder
F – Favorite perfume: Dazzling Silver by… Estee Lauder?
G – Gold or silver: Slver
H – Hometown: Rochester, NY
I – Insomnia: Nope.
J – Job title: Teacher of Fast-food Style Wham-Bam-Thank-You-Ma’am English
K – Kids: Are gross.
L – Living arrangements: Live in a shoebox in Japan with my best friend.
M – Mum’s birthplace: Somewhere in Florida.
N – Number of apples you’ve eaten: Ever? More than I can count?
O – Overnight hospital stays: 0
P – Phobia: Um. Don’t know the names. Fear of dentists, childbirth, and closed spaces. And of the weird toilet in my apartment. The spiget really freaks me out. I can’t look at it when it flushes.
R – Religious affiliation: This one’s iffy.
S – Siblings: 2 half-brothers, 2 half-sisters, 3 step-sisters and 2 half-brothers
T – Time you wake up: Usually about 10?
U – Unnatural hair colors you’ve worn: Blue….
V – Vegetable you refuse to eat: Radishes.
W – Worst habit: Procrastination.
X – X-rays: Are really interesting.
Y – Yummy foods you make: Anything. Grilled cheese and Campbell’s Tomato soup is my current favorite though.
Z – Zodiac sign: Libra.

These are Thomas’ new pink eyes. They’re glass and gorgeous. Unfortunately, these pictures won’t come out.

Tam’s pretty, creepy new eyes. I love them. ;)

Friday really needs to have her eyes bevelled out inside. They’re so uneven and sunken… that coupled with her bottle cap inside her head makes it really hard to set her eyes evenly…. blah. Please ignore that her eyes are uneven and just look at the eyes themselves. They’re red and have gold flecks – like a sunrise!

These are Rory’s new tawny eyes. They’re so luminous and lovely in person. They’re a little small, though they said they were 16 mm… but the other pair I got him (more of an olive green) is 18 mm, and they’re a little too big. (I like 16s best in the Link head – he looks more alert and less squinty).

These aren’t new, but this is a cute pic. This is Harlequinn as MSD Jun. ;)

There are other eyes, but they haven’t been photographed yet (such as some pale blue ones with dark blue pupils, some yawny olive ones, and some pink ones with dark pink pupils.)

I went to Doll’s Garden Nagoya today. It kicked some serious ass. ;) Makes me even more determined to go to summer Dolpa!

Lots of pictures!

More pictures!

She’s been repainted. I still don’t think I’ll keep her. Just need to decide what to have her wear when I sell her….