Monster High repair trick

Hey everyone! I was excited to show you a couple of dolls I bought used from a fellow collector. However one of them, this Clawdeen, was in no shape to be displayed. She had a common MH problem - missing both hands and a forearm. In this post I'll show you my cheap solution for it.

World Doll Day 2015 - a tag

Hey, tomorrow is the second Saturday of June and that can only mean one thing - it's World Doll Day! Now this is very last minute, but I wanted to mark it somehow so I decided to start a little tag. I think this is the kind of thing anyone can put together no matter how busy they are! Who's willing to participate?

Updates and a rant

It's been a long time since I last posted (or showed any sign of life in the blog community). I was busy taking care of stuff before a trip with hubby in September and I barely had time to finish a draft post before leaving. Then I came back, but I've been sick all this time. We found some new dolls which I wanted to introduce. I wasn't happy with the last "shopping" post where I hurried to take pictures while some of the dolls were still unbrushed. Well, now I took my time to tweak each of them a little. I mean, who hasn't seen a basic Raven Queen out of the box? Old news. But have you seen mine? Anyway, doll pictures ahead!

Big bun tutorial

A very rushed post before I disappear again for two weeks! I wanted to put up Cleo's long hair and so this hairdo was born. I took pictures some time ago and now I'm ready to show you how to recreate it. It's quick, fairly easy, and most important - non permanent!
Without further ado, the big bun tutorial :)

Mood for Mods: A firm stand

Mood for Mods (as in "modifications") deals with ways of fixing or restyling factory doll outfits. Skirt too short or too tight? Shoes with floppy heels? No problem! Are you in the mood for mods? Let's see what can be done!

You have my husband to thank for today's Mood for Mods installment. Not only did he provide the dolls that participated in the experiment, he also insisted I deliver another post although I filled my self-imposed two-posts-per-month quota. I had this planned for some time and just needed some more pictures. Hubby walked in on me taking the above photo and exclaimed in surprise: "They stand by themselves!" Yes, yes they do, that's why we love Monster High dolls! These two, however, came with very unsupportive shoes out of the box. Today we'll learn how to fix gummy heels - it takes a minute of your time and makes a huge difference.

New faces

I went to a second doll meeting last week. It happened before hubby bought me Twyla but I never got around to editing the pictures for this post so now it's a good opportunity to introduce all the new acquaintances at once :)

Treasure Hunt from Hubby

I had a most exciting evening today! This post will be short and not informative at all but it's very special for me. First of all, I need to say that I have the best husband in the world and nobody dare contradict me. I've often talked about his contributions to my collection; it should come as no surprise that he decided to spoil me again. But he did it in a completely unexpected and ingenious way...

Another return from Strasbourg

I wasn't sure how to title this post. Yes, I travelled and yes, I'm back, but it's really about dolls. Dolls in trousers - what a rare sight! Hubby told me to bring home at least three dolls and such was my luck that all three were trousers-clad versions of characters from my wishlist. What were the odds?

Inspiration is contagious

This week, my second Ghoulia was finally able to climb on the shelf after spending almost a year in drawers and bags, often in pieces or in an otherwise very sorry state. She was one of three dolls I bought nude with the intention of customising. I regret that purchase for many reasons. The lack of outfits didn't lower the prices enough to make it a good deal. Second, any outfit, no matter how lame at first, is better than nothing. At the rate I sew new clothes, my dolls have to stay in their original ones for a very long time. Lastly, I discovered that I enjoy factory clothes (and shoes!) a lot more than I thought I would, even if they don't fit my taste. Poor Scaris Ghoulia with ruined hair was deserted on an empty shelf to remind me of my mistake until one day I was able to fix it and I went looking for a dress to fit her newfound gorgeousness. Luckily, the solution was right here in my reading list. I'll leave the hair story for another day, but I'd like to talk about a little relay race I had with Barbielea that led to the creation of this dress :)

Wrist surgery

I took some extra time to prepare this post because I wanted to turn it into a more global tutorial. I was just about ready when Blogger had this annoying glitch for a couple of days. What was up with that? It drove me crazy! I half prepared another post while saving this one for a time when people could actually see it, but now it's fixed, and I know I kept the suspense long enough. I'm happy to say I got to the bottom of the blackening issue, then made a new wrist replacement, and another one for a different (not broken) doll. I now present you a full tutorial for fixing broken wrists/elbows/knees on any doll that uses the kind of joint seen in the first picture. The beauty of it is that it uses common materials and can be adapted for any size and colour!

28th World Doll Day

Today was the 28th World Doll Day, a holiday started by a doll enthusiast, Mildred Seeley, to celebrate our hobby. I found out about this not long ago thanks to Confessions of a Doll Collector's Daughter's post. She included Mildred's letter to her friends where she described how she wanted this day to be (go read it!). I'm happy that we get our own holiday, but I was caught very unprepared this year. I have nothing to give, not even words of wisdom a tutorial. The best I can do is raise awareness about the fact that yes, there is a day for us collectors. I'll shut up now and leave you with a bunch of more or less artistic (read: edited) photos of my doll shelves. Enjoy!

Managing super fine doll hair?

Hubby caught me snapping the photo above this evening in our kitchen and now he wouldn't let me go to sleep until I write my new article :) Luckily for my killer headache, it's going to be a short one. I want to share a little discovery I made while trying to fix Scaris Ghoulia's fried hair that will maybe get us closer to understanding how this hair fiber works.

A royal trio

At the end of last year I won a mystery runner-up prize in Ashley's holiday giveaway. When it arrived on March 1st it turned out to be an "I love shoes" Cleo doll which is the third Cleo in my collection. On this occasion, I brought the other two for a little photoshoot.

Presents from far away

This will be short. I've been down lately with a nasty cold so I haven't done anything useful. Earlier this year, we bought a doll on ebay, which a kind friend offered to bring home to me. She had been back for a week, but I couldn't go anywhere because of my cold. Finally on Friday evening, hubby managed to get me the doll, and then I received a call from Mum, who said there's a package for me from the USA.

C.A. Cupid as a fairy + new doll

A Facebook fan group recently held a contest where they asked people to imagine a new school for C. A. Cupid, the character who transferred from Monster High to Ever After High, and draw her as a student of that school. Now that the deadline is over, I'll talk about how I drew my entry and then I'll show a doll I bought earlier that arrived in the mail this week.

Mood for Mods: Flattening seams

Today I'm opening a new tag dedicated to doll tutorials. Mood for Mods (as in "modifications") deals with ways of fixing or restyling factory doll outfits. Skirt too short or too tight? Shoes with floppy heels? No problem! Are you in the mood for mods? Let's see what can be done!

I have thought a lot about the idea for this series and I finally decided to go with it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I like to have everything my way. I can't bear to dress dolls in outfits with glaring faults and I don't want to throw them away either. So far I successfully modified a few items and a couple are still in progress. Yesterday was my birthday so I want to celebrate it with a story about my doll gift, PD Spectra, and how I fixed her misshapen sleeves.

New dolls I brought home

Ever since I started the blog I decided for myself I'll update on every doll purchase. Not because I want to boast, but because I want to keep track of my progress - how often I get new stuff and how much time passes before I start working on it. So, after my latest trip, it was inevitable I bring home a few goodies. Let's see what I found.

My sole tutorial (with spider sandals for MH and a lot of pictures)

I promised a tutorial for my accidentally discovered method of making soles for doll shoes, and here it is! Three shoes made like this have been around for quite a while now; they have been put on and off many times, dropped and even stepped on lightly (I can be a real klutz >.<) and I'm happy to say they survived without noticeable warping or other damage. Now I can share the tutorial with confidence. There are over 40 photos next - click on if you can handle...

Two new dolls

I finished my spider shoes and while I sort through the bazillion photos for the sole tutorial, I'll share the newest dolls in my collection. Hubby returned from a business trip to France and brought me not one, but two dolls!

Shoe project

Any guesses on what it will be?

I found my Monster High shoes on Pinterest with the following text: "Beautiful OOAK shoes for Monster High ! °0° Tuto on the Website"

This is flattering, but there's no tutorial yet! It's just the clasp!

So I made up my mind to change this as soon as possible. My long due pair of Barbie boots isn't moving at all. I had to think of a design that involves the least amount of leather to make some quick shoes for the sole tutorial.