New Years, New Tries

Oh goodness, well, here we are again... Another failure in the bucket... :\

Thank you for joining me once again, if I haven't lost you, and if you're new to the blog, welcome!

It has been almost three years of ups and downs in this hobby and in this attempt to run my store, and I always feel like no matter what I do, I hit a brick wall.  With school, with parenting, with finding a place to move into with my fiance... Every time, my ideas slap me in the face...

So, a couple weeks back, I made some changes.  I began taking vitamins, I changed my diet and exercise, and I changed the way I stay organized.  I cleaned up my room, so to speak, and my support team have been here cheering me on every step of the way.

My BJD partner in crime, Heather T., told me, "[That's] life dear, little tiny wins, heavy losses... Such is a life as a human, but it's the little things that keep us going."

Well, my little things... Let's make a list, shall we?  Keep us going?

• We made it to the end of the year with only 2 trips to the ER (the only two I've ever had in my whole life).
• I managed to find a cute way to make a Yo-SD dress, despite not finishing because of a couple errors.
• Got a new sewing machine!!! A beautiful one from my parents and I've been testing it out ever since!
• Wonderful, new dolls were added to our doll family, including our first SD-sized friend, Eliana, who will be helping me with the SD lady's clothing!!
• New jobs and raises for my fiance and I, hopefully great ones that we will keep and grow with!
• A face-lift for the shop, along with new cards and things. (We found another well-known site used the same ones as our butterflies, so we opted to change them.)

........ And so many more little things that just make me smile. :)

Page update and 260 Likes!!

We've finally hit the 260 Like mark! Nothing special to those big stores, but, for us here at the BJB, it's wonderful!  Thank you so much for your support!!  We cannot express how much we appreciate you all standing behind us!!

Hopefully this year is full of many wonderful things to come! We hit our 3 year mark on May 1st, so let's see what surprises we can cook up by then!! :D

Wish us luck!!

Thanks for joining us!!

-The BJB Staff

Trying for Halloween

Hello again!  If you're just joining us, WELCOME~!  Come!  Read!  Sit down for a spell~!

It's that time of year again!  Halloween!!  Samhain!!  All Hallows Eve!!

Last year's dress, modeled by Chiyo.

Last year, as previous readers may remember, I attempted to have a Halloween dress (or was it dresses?) up for sale in my shop.

If you followed along, it fell through, however, sewing by hand bringing me to a resounding halt as things got busier.  So, this year, I've hoped to try again.

If anyone is interested in last year's dress, however, I am debating on putting it up for sale.  If you agree with this, let me know because up it will go!  It will come as is with little black socks.  It fits perfectly on VOLKS Yo-SD-sized dolls and similar, but it's a bit big on my Fairyland LittleFee.

As I said previously, I do plan on making things OOAK in my shop, so if you would like this one or this year's dress, be sure to jump right on that, as there will only be ONE of each posted!!

This year's dress, in the works earlier this month.

This time round, we have pumpkins!

Adorable, petite pumpkins with a silvery-black ribbon lining the bottom.

Now, this is just a sneak peek, there is more to be seen of this dress as the next few days go by, so please, if you are interested in seeing it's progress or seeing it listed, keep an eye out on the Facebook page or the shop!

It will have sleeves and other embellishments, as well as snap closures in the back.  I'm still debating on putting a collar on it, though, it being an autumn-timed outfit and all.

Well, we have time for one last sneak peek of things coming to the shop in the near future.

16mm green acrylic eyes.

Acrylic eyes, anyone?

As of right now, I have access to 16mm eyes, so that's what will debut at the shop as soon as I finish the testing phase.

I am still debating on the Custom Order or if I will just do certain colors and keep it at that, but they do seem like I can make them digitally quick enough to work on a few at a time.

As you can see, the pupils in both eyes came out a tad big, and the left one ended up off-center, but this is the test pair, so please bear with me.

Hopefully, within the next few days, I will have the 16mm down pat, and find where I can procure some other sizes to add to the shop.

In the meantime, keep your eye out for more updates!

As always, thank you for joining me!

Have a wonderful evening!

♥ The BJDA

Sewing Machine!!

Hello, and welcome to the Ball-Jointed Baby, property of the Ball-Jointed Boutique! ;)

Sewing 101 pillow case, playing with Snow.

In this exciting issue, WE HAVE A SEWING MACHINE AGAIN!!

Yes!  After ages of waiting patiently-- well, not so patiently-- the store finally has access to a new sewing machine!!

It does human-sized button holes, tons of stitches, and came with all sorts of feet that I can't wait to try!  It runs so much smoother than my previous machine, and I can't wait to keep testing everything and learning it's ins and outs.

This lovely little machine and I are going to become the best of friends very shortly.  Once I'm done playing, I'm hoping to finally get all those projects I've been doing by hand underway and completed.  It's about time my store re-opened!

And, speaking of the shop, I've taken to looking for small prints on fabrics, things that won't look too ridiculous on smaller dolls and themed things as well.  Every time I go to my favorite fabric store, I bring back at least 3-5 fat quarters in different colors and styles, just to mess around and see what I can do.  So far, the only thing they're difficult to use on is an MSD-sized kimono, other than that, fat quarters are great for doll clothing!  Remnants, the bits left over after a bolt of fabric has been almost all used up, are great for doll clothes too!  They are excellent resources when you don't want to lug the whole bolt up to the counter to cut just a 1/2 yard off or something small like that.

Fabric quarters and a remnant.

So!  Things in the works:  Leeke Art Doll and SD-sized clothing.  I have all sorts of little ideas flying around this noggin of mine on what I could add to the shop, be it permanently or OOAK sets, so hopefully I can at least get a good "crop" in my shop this year. :)

Wish me luck!

As always, thank you for joining me! 

Until next time!

♥ The BJDA

Good Gravy It's Been an Eternity!

Hello again!

Welcome back!  In case you were wondering, yes, it HAS been an eternity, and yes, I missed it terribly!

In the past almost year, we've had job issues, hospitalizations, and other daily life things that always seemed to get in the way of my sewing.  Fortunately, I hope that these have all settled, at least for a little while, so I can resume sewing and bring the store back from holiday.

My first attempt at a kanzashi flower.

I see other shops doing grab bags and limited edition outfits and sets, instead of the traditional buy>>make>>ship set up most shop owners use.

Now, I have a new sewing box, new sewing patterns, and a few new tricks up my sleeve to help get my shop up and running smoothly again... Hopefully sometime soon, too!

My current projects have been kimonos and kanzashi flowers, both human sized at the moment, however, I DO want to try for BJD sized kanzashi. It seems like it would be adorable.

We've officially hit 250 Likes on our FaceBook page, so I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to follow us in the past few years, especially recently despite the page being at a standstill like the blog.  It's so heartwarming to see all the support we are receiving.  Thank you all so much, from the bottoms of our hearts here at the BJB.

I hope to have more updates soon, with more pictures of current projects and other things for sale.  I can't wait to introduce all my new models, and write up a post about my current in-progress doll!

As always, thank you for joining me!

Have a wonderful day!

♥ The BJD Addict

New FairyLand Event and Sewing Projects

Hello again, and welcome to another edition of the Ball-Jointed Baby!

So~!  The event first:

FairyLand Nanuri 2014 Event

Event Period:  September 13, 2013 - October 13, 2013

Customers are eligible to receive following gifts for orders priced:


1.  Nanuri Event

-  A)  $250 or above:  PukiFee Swimming Flippers (BW skin only)

-  B)  $400 or above:  PukiFee Diving Helmet (BW skin only)

-  C)  $600 or above:  MiniFee Nanuri Head (Natural or BW skin only)

-  D)  $600 or above:  PukiFee Swimming Set (A. diving helmet + B. swimming flippers)

-  E)  $800 or above:  FeePle60 Nanuri Head (Natural, BW or Tan **)

-  F)  $1500 or above:  c + d + e

**Orders priced $800 or above AND containing Tan Skin FeePle60 body or Tan Skin FeePle60 A la Carte can select Nanuri Head in Tan Skin option.

2.  FeePle60 1 Year Anniversary Event - Body Sale

The FeePle60 body will be available for the duration of the event.  Please note that the price has been altered for the event and tan skin is also available.*

*FeePle60 body or A la Carte in other skin tone are not eligible for Tan Skin Nanuri head.
  

If you can participate, I would!  Those FeePle60 bodies are simply gorgeous!!  And Nanuri is just plain lovely... I have the LittleFee myself.  ;)

 

On the sewing front, possibly, I'm hoping to make grab bags or OOAK things for Halloween...  Sewing by hand, of course.  So, let's cross our fingers and hope, shall we?  Lol. 

 

Well, that's all I have time for today.  Hopefully you enjoyed the little tidbit of Event info I had for you!

 

Thanks for joining me!  I hope to see you again soon!

 

♥ The BJD Addict

 

 

 

SD Sizes + Updates

Hello again!  As always, sorry for the pause, but here we are, once again, joining together for another edition of the Ball-Jointed Baby~!

As you could probably tell from the title, if you read the titles of blog posts, this entry is going to be about SD sizes.  Why, you may ask, because I am taking advantage of Leeke's offering of Arien (57.5cm), and getting my first and only SD sized doll.

After realizing that this I probably my one and only chance at getting her, I've decided to go for it!  I have wanted her since I laid eyes on Kaine, cats10's LeekeWorld Arien on an AriaDoll 14yr.  body.  Just look at those freckles!!  Isn't she darling?!

So! As of October 5th, I will have paid 3/4's of her bill, and she already has a wardrobe waiting for her when she gets home.

Man, a lot has happened since my last entry...  I even had a draft left over from April...  That totally will not get finished... XD

Well, let's start from the beginning, as all story's do, and just go from there, shall we? :)

Selling on eBay:
I've begun selling my doll things I no longer need on eBay.  It's taking me a while to get everything uploaded, but I've already sold 3 of 9, so I guess that's a good start.  Lol.  It's all BJD stuff right now, including my DZ Nono, so, if you're interested, go check it out!  ;)  I already sold my Dollfie Dream 04 head, a limited Leeke wig, and the school uniform I got a while back FOR the DD girl.  Lol.    Hopefully, I will have more eyes and such up soon.  :)

New Dolls in the Household:
So...  In total... I have 9 dolls... NINE! 

WHAT THE HELL?!?!  When did that happen?!?! 

By the end of 2013, I will have Eliana (LeekeWorld L-Type Arien, 57.8cm), C.C. (Parabox 40cm Alice), Lettie (LeekeWorld A-Type Ariana, 40cm), Fallen (Doll in Mind Happy Flowne, 41cm), Harumi (LUTS Kid Delf Coco, 41cm), Addie (LeekeWorld A-Type/M-Type Mikhaila, 37.8cm), Rolly (FairyLand LittleFee Rolly, 25cm), Chiyo (VOLKS Yo-SDG Chika, 27cm), and Arturia (FairyLand LittleFee Nanuri, 25cm).  Nine girls...  Wow...  I'm definitely a happy doll mama.  Lol. 

Harumi came from a friend on FaceBook, and you all know Saber (Arturia) has been a year in the making.  Lol.  Her poor eyebrow is already scratched, though, so I'll have to remove her eyes and redo that spot...  I loathe the idea... -_-  I am working on a pair of jeans for Haru' though...  So hopefully they're done soon.  Lol.  I doubt it.  XD  At this rate, I'm flopping.  Time to dust off the pants and try again, right?  :)

New Job Updates!!:
If you didn't know from last time, I finally have an official, go to everyday, job, and everything is going smoothly!  I really love working there, and I can't wait to go back each day!  I never thought I'd enjoy talking to people face-to-face every day, but I truly do.  It's awesome!

New Ball-Joint Dollies:

I discovered Cu-Poche a while ago...  Still don't know how to pronounce it, but hey...  Lol.  And I have 2 of the 5 currently out, Madoka (my most recent and an anniversary gift from Justin) and Dark Magician Girl/Black Magic Girl (my birthday present, pre-order from back in March/April).  Both just got here within a week of each other, and they're just darling!  14+ points of articulation, so not an ART ball-jointed doll, but a ball-jointed doll nonetheless.  Lol.  I love ALL the dolls!!  :D  Truly, I do.  Lol.


Okay...  That's all for now...  I feel like if I don't publish soon, I won't publish ever...  Esp. since the fist half of this entry was written back in July... >.>

As always, thanks for joining me!

Hope to see you all again soon! ♥

-The BJD Addict

Craziness

Hi guys!! >.<
Goodness me, it has been a while!!

Well, let's get this show on the road!  Welcome to another edition of the Ball-Jointed Baby! Brought to you by The Ball-Jointed Boutique!!

Please forgive my epically long disappearance... Life became... Well, hell... >.> But let's stick to the cheery parts, shall we? ;)

So!  First things first!  The girls~!

 A friend of mine who loves BJD, but does not have one as of yet started asking me about C.C., so I decided to take her out for a photo... Which ended up being a GROUP photo. XD  So here they are, my full-body girls (from Left to Right) Chiyo, Fallen, C.C., Talia (in C.C.'s lap), Lettie, and Rolly.  As of right now, I have two floating heads, Arturia (Saber from the Fate series) and Meiko, but hopefully they will have bodies soon.  Arturia is a Fairyland LittleFee Nanuri (2012) in normal skin, and Mei is a VOLKS Mini Dollfie Dream, 04 head in normal skin.  I don't have a picture of Mei yet, she is eye-less and I want to redo her face-up, but I DO have one of Saber.

 Even though I prefer both Fallen (my elf-faery) and Lettie (my girl from the 1890s) in their birthday suits, I did decide to let them try out clothes again.  Fallen's was an accident.  I wrapped her up in a bit of cloth to keep her from getting marked up, and then switched the cloth out for something else when I realized I liked that look for her.  Lol.  So, Fallen ended up wearing a Sari-type outfit with a sash to keep it all together.  Lettie, on the other hand, ended up in an outfit (AND SHOES) I got from a friend.  It is destined for Mei, but Lettie can borrow it for now, even if "school girl" outfits DO NOT fit into the 1890s.  Lol.

Secondly, on May 1st, 2013, the BJB turned 1!!  One whole year old!!  XD  Has it really been that long??

Now, I know I said I wanted to have a give-away for the first anniversary, but yeah, that didn't happen... What DID happen, was my machine giving out on me, finally, after surviving 4 generations of seamstresses.  I am looking, but I have yet to get another one.  :(  Right now, I've been mostly making stockings, we've had a few orders for them, but it's been difficult to make much else and have it turn out lovely enough to sell.  :(  Too many bad test results.  Lol.  So, back to the drawing board.

Now that school is out and I've decided on not going back until Kole is in school, I should have more time to design and make outfits.  I'm still debating with the OOAK outfits on top of the others or just instead of the other sets.  Hopefully, between Kole and working (HELL YES!  I GOT A JOB!! XD), I will have time to make more for the shop by hand.  Hmm, maybe I can take some to work... Some women do their knitting... >.>

On that note, I managed to get my hands on a pack of Indian-looking fabrics from Joann's.  Not sure what the plan is for them yet, but I adore the prints already!  They remind me of henna mendhi designs for hands and feet.  XD  I've been wanting henna for a while now, so I think I was drawn to the pack from that internal longing.  I miss my hands covered in gorgeous, deep brown henna... Even if some people think it's weird for me to have it.

But alright... Time for me to get a move on... I hear the little man waking from his nap. ♥

Thanks for joining me, once again! :D

Until next time!
-The BJD Addict