Difficulty Bonding

I know this happens in the doll community, but how much so? So recently I received a Resinsoul Rong as a very special Christmas gift. I didn't pick her based on a character I already had in mind because those characters I wanted to pay for on my own. I guess it's the whole fully owning the character that causes me to think this way. So with this doll I invented a new character that was a relative of one my characters. The storyline is great, and I love the character, but the doll is something else. Now I picked out the doll, so this isn't a slam on the gift giver. I just loved that Rong had mouse ears and that was one of the reasons I wanted her, but she just doesn't seem “right”. At first she was going to be the older sister of the character I had already come up with, and that she'd be the more calm and level-headed while her sister was more wild. We'll they've since switched stories the longer I own my doll.

Midori, my doll, is now the younger sister, born on Christmas day while her twin sister was born on Christmas Eve. She was into Mori Girl clothing, but that fit her sister better, so Midori is now into either FRUiTS style of fashion, punk fashion, or Korean fashions but I am not really sure what that would be. I love Korean dramas and K-pop, so I thought doing Korean fashion would be fun. Only thing is, from what I've observed, regular on the street Korean fashion is similar to what can be seen in high fashion districts of the U.S. or on many U.S. fashion blogs, and I was looking for something a little more unique. From what I've seen of Korean clothing, they like to layer their clothing, they like to pull a little from different genres like R&B, pop, and even punk, but still very similar to what you can find in the U.S., so I am not sure it's right for Midori. I really wanted bright colors for her, but I also like the idea of distressed clothing as well. Maybe of mix of punk and FRUiTS, but even some FRUiTS fashion are slowly becoming anything you can find on U.S. streets so it's becoming frustrating. Maybe I need to make up a new fashion all Midori's. I just want her fashion to be weird and funky and wild. I want it to look like she just didn't give a care, yet when you stop to look at it, she thought out every piece and how it all fit together. Ughhhh!!!

So it's with frustration that I feel I am just not bonding with my doll. I don't think it's the doll herself, though I do wish I could have given her a face-up, that may have helped me bond with her more. I really think it was me just not being prepared for what owning a bjd would be like. It's different than a ready made doll from Toys R Us, it's a constant work of art. You are constantly working on the doll's character, even with you think they are done, there is always something more you can do. And there is a lot of waiting to get things right. I tend to be a patient person, but I'm frustrated that I don't even have a concrete idea for her. I have some of her story done, but I haven't been able to decide on what the rest of her character is. I want to work on clothing for her and see if that will build her character, but even that I can't do because I don't know her style. I would like to buy her some clothes in hopes of that bonding me with her more, but that will take a while because of funds.

Another reason this girl is frustrating me is because of her elastic. I read somewhere that Resinsoul/Bobobie use a very springy elastic and most people change the elastic so the body can be strong tighter. I have pulled her elastics tighter as is the norm with Resinsoul and Bobobie dolls, and still the girl is kicky and won't sit on her own. And she's not strung tight because I can still easily pull her arms and legs apart, but I have pulled on the elastic as hard as I could. So I just don't get it. I really think it is the elastic. My Bobobie Lucky doll Christmas Noel is also very loose even though I have pulled her strings tight twice. So I am thinking she needs new elastic too. I have heard you can get tiny doll elastic at JoAnn Fabrics and for bigger dolls you can look at Lowes or Home Depot. So I will have to head out to both to look. I would just like a resource here for elastic so I can have easy access to it, and so it will hopefully be cheaper to purchase. But if I can't find anything then elastic goes on the list of items I must buy online.

One last thing that irritates me about this girl is her ears. The ears I coveted are becoming a problem when it comes to wigs. The wigs wont fit right on her head because of her cute little ears. I got her a silicone dome cap, which btw those things are awesome, and they hold the wig ok, but still there is a bump in it because it can't fit flat against her head. It puts to much on the bangs up front because of the it not being able to sit right on her head, so she looks funky with bangs covering most of her face. I'm going to try a wig without bangs and see how that works. For now I am still working on the yarn wig, which has a bump because of the ears. I should have stopped a row before I did. Live and learn and then try again. I'll be making her another wig after I finish this one.

So that brings me back to being on the fence about my girl. I love her, and I want to make her work. She is a cherished gift, and that makes her even more special. I just don't know how to make myself bond with her. Maybe that's just a thing with bjds. Maybe it takes a while to bond because they aren't complete and you can't see the full character yet. Who knows. I hope I am not alone in this feeling. I will keep working on ideas for her and see what I can come up with. I'll get her a box so I can start filling it with stuff for her and see if I can't build her character. Once I do and I feel I understand bjds a bit better, I'll work on either getting her mini me Leia or getting her sister Brigsby. We'll see. All I know is I don't want three unfinished bjds sitting around her. Christmas Noel has buttered in complexion and I've barely used her. I just need to spend more time working on them I guess. These dolls will be a part of my “The Manor” photostories. I need to return to those this year. This story is just so I can play more with my dolls that don't really fit in my other doll stories due to size or what have you.

So thus ends my vent. I really wish I was bonded with her, but I guess it's going to take some time. I hate that. I'll figure it out, just hate that I don't have a general idea about her right now. I guess it will all come in time. I'll keep you updated on our status. :-) I'll talk to you lovely peeps in the next post. Be good until then. Bye for now.

On the hunt for Korean fashion styles,
Michelle

The first and last images are mine, if you use them please link back to my blog. All other pictures are from The Junkyspot Denver Doll Emporium, and ResinSoul.