Handmaiden House

Cute librarian

Beatie — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 06:21:56 +0000

Love ya, Ume!

Pink glasses

These glasses actually belong to my future doll Johanne (an AOD Rao <3). You might be thinkint “Where does ‘Johanne’ fit in with otherwise quite Japanese characters – I’ll tell you when the time comes. ^_^

Anyways, I thought Ume looked ever so cute with all her pink and lilac wear that I HAD to try those glasses on her. They match quite well so I snapped some simple shots of her. I hope you enjoyed them.

Sitting in the window

Beatie — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:58:23 +0000

I just redid Ume’s faceup today. I’ve finally come to terms with having to buy her another head at some point… it’s just not working out. She’s cute as a button to me but I know how she looks to others: Spotty, damaged, miskept. ;___; It makes me quite sad ’cause half the fun is sharing my love for her and have others compliment her as well. She just does not look right in pictures.

I did however snap a few of her – can’t help myself. She’s such a cutie sitting there in my window.

Sitting in the window

In other news: Usagi hasn’t arrived yet. I’ve not even gotten her tracking number and I’m trying not to think about it too much. I just know I’ll love her to bits. <3

Impatience levels rising

Beatie — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:27:48 +0000

I’m starting my finals at school and waiting for my Feilian still. I just have to keep myself busy all the time to avoid going nuts. When thinking about Usagi arriving I almost get dizzy. My heart is going to be throbbing and knocking me over when I’m handed her lovely big box – just for me. <3

All this waiting has caused me wanting to redo Ume’s faceup once more. It’s only two weeks since the last one but I’m not satisfied with it. It doesn’t photograph very well and that IS half the fun. I also bought myself a SUPER fine brush, it’s like size 000 so I should really redo it. It’ll be much neater this time, I think.

Only thing is, I’m scared that I’ll discolor her again. I bought some other type of alcohol that supposedly is gentler than what I usually use. I dunno… I’m really scared for Ume but she can’t keep this faceup forever anyways.

I guess I’ll try … at some point. Sorry Ume!

Peaceful evening out

Beatie — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:44:45 +0000

I had planned a little trip outside and a short photostory but my camera had other plans. Two pictures in and I was out of battery… (should’ve known as I haven’t recharged it since the Paris trip.)

However, Ume is such a grateful motif and I did manage to get a decent shot of her sitting peacefully and dreaming away on a small hilltop.

"I wish I wasn't here by myself."

Ume, 3rd faceup

Beatie — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:38:50 +0000

Ume, 3rd faceup

I’ve had major problems with Ume’s head lately. “Major problems” being an understatement. I thought I knew all the basics of faceups and faceup removal but I learned a very important lesson yesterday:

DO NOT SOAK A DOLL HEAD IN ALCOHOL FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME!

I’d been experimenting a bit with faceups (and this isn’t really Ume’s 3rd faceup, but since the others were no good they don’t count). To make it easier for myself to remove her faceups, I soaked her in a cup of alcohol for long periods of time, again and again. The faceup just comes right off but there’s a price to be paid for that…

Turns out it makes her face all spotted and essentially damages her skin color. Thank God it didn’t dissolve the resin itself. It seems only the color suffered from this, however the spots streaks could only be removed by sanding her.

I got some 1000 grit wet sanding paper and spent all day filing away at her face. She lost some detail around her mouth and some places were near impossible to sand but I think I saved her. ;_; That’s a lesson learned the hard way. Anyway, here is another picture of her that slightly more true to her real-life coloring:

Ume, 3rd faceup

The picture doesn’t show her mouth very well, though. It looks very stripey here but in real life it’s quite beautiful. I guess all these closeups are a bit unkind since she’s a mini and my paint job looks so clumsy up close. They’re not, though. In real life she’s looking her best ever. ^_^

I’m so happy I was able to correct my horrible mistake and I won’t be redoing her faceup any time soon.

Ume, 2nd faceup

Beatie — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 08:35:42 +0000

I finally got my two cans of Mr. Super Clear from ThinkPink in Holland. So I decided to experiment a little and made Ume’s face to match a new set of eyes I got.

Ume's 2nd faceup

The eyes are Glib 14 mm Cobalt Life Like acryllics.

Ume's 2nd faceup

There are some flaws to her faceup so I’ll be redoing it soon. For example she has an uneven skin tone due to sanding and I found it very hard to cover up. My friend Angel did the blushing on Ume for her first faceup and she did and excellent job at covering it up. I hope I’ll manage better next time.

Also I’m not satisfied with the blue parts of the eye shadow. I tried to make it fade but couldn’t quite get it right with the water colors I used. I also used watercolor combined with gloss and water for the lips. Mixing in some water made it much easier to manage, however I didn’t notice the air bubbles until afterwards. To tell you the truth, they don’t really show in real life but the close-up pics tell all, I guess. ^_^

I’m getting the knack of putting in eyelashes though. That was easy peasy and the eye brows came out nice and it was done in ONE go!

Ume definitely looks more adult and a bit of a vixen but I like this new style. I can’t say if the next faceup will be as dramatic… we’ll see.

I guess I’m having a hard time finding her style since I can’t really decide on a personality. It’s seems weird for me to create a history for her and all that, even though that’s what most people do. Maybe she’ll be fine without a background, likes and dislikes – but I also fear that if I don’t create her personality I’ll become unattatched and uninspired after a while. After all, she’s a doll. Never changing even if she IS beautiful.

I can’t wait to see what having two dolls will feel like.

Waiting for Usagi

Beatie — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:49:08 +0000

On the 20th I ordered a Limited DZ Feilian with bunny ears in Normal Yellow skin. She grabbed my attention right from the moment I saw her and even though it wasn’t in the cards for me, I finally decided I had to have her!

Limited DZ Feilian

She has the best lil’ face. Actually, she’s one of the first molds that ever stuck with me and that I was able to tell apart from all the others. I like how her mouth arches and that it’s quite close to her nose. She’s got a cute chin and eyes to match. ^_^

Limited DZ Feilian

As opposed to other molds with ears/horns/tails, these don’t have magnets to keep their extra bits in place. Instead they have some sort of spring and I’m anxious to see how they work and if I can fit them over the Tinybear wig in “Cinnamon Swirl” I ordered for her.

I’ve read somewhere that you get both the bunny ears and the cat ears with the Limited girls but I don’t know for sure since I think that would be a major selling point and isn’t really pointed out on the Dollzone site. I’d love that though, having the two sets of ears! *drools*

Introducing Ume

Beatie — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:04:30 +0000

I’ve had Ume for over a month now and it’s been great. That’s why I’m starting this blog to display my growing doll collection in whatever way I please. I’m also active on both the Danish ABJD forum, Resin Garden, and the International, Den of Angels, but since my mind revolves a lot around this newest hobby of mine and I don’t like to spam the boards, I decided to put all my babbling and experiments here.

In other words: This blog will contain all my new plans, stories, pictures, doll clothes and whatever else I might come up with along the way.

Now, let’s get on with it. Here she is in all her glory, my first dollie love Ume.

Ume

She’s a Bobobie Sprite in Lilac on a Mature body. I named her Ume because it’s the Japanese word for “plum”. In my other hobby, bento cooking, I learned about “umeboshi” which are dried plums and a Japanese favourite snack. Also I found the term “umeshu” which means plum wine. I usually call her Umeshu as a nickname.

She’s ordered from Junkyspot.com and was delivered fast and safely. I was extremely happy with that order and will buy from them again any day.