So late last year I started contemplating making my own doll. I have been looking at resin dolls ever since I took on the task of making my sister’s doll a wardrobe, and no it’s not done and yes I feel horrible about it. Well I started looking at the mechanics of her doll and decided to research it some, my favorite online hobby. Through my searching about how to make toys in general I came across 3D imaging and machines that can make 3D items right before your eyes. It’s pretty damn amazing. Here, have a look.
Now this machine is more of a personal one you can have at home, for a hefty price, and you can design and make your own toys. But they have other machines that will design your items whole without splitting them up. There are also services that you can have your item made in 3D, but that can also be pricey.
Further looking into these machines I began to wonder if it was possible to make a ball joint doll with these machines. I mean sure the material was strong enough to handle elastic going through it and being moved and rubbed against itself. So I went to trusty old YouTube and searched for someone who may have done it. My first several searches came up empty-handed. It wasn’t until this month that I started looking at videos of people customizing dolls and making their own ball joint dolls that I finally found the video I’d been looking for.
Isn’t that neat?!? I don’t know if she’s super delicate, but she is very nicely done. I think I still prefer resin or abs or something a little more norm in the ball joint doll world, but this is a cool concept. But then again if it is strong material, which I really do think it is, then this is just another cool option for making ball joint dolls. I wonder how the material stands up over the years? I wonder if you’d use the same customizing techniques on the dolls made from it as we do on resin or abs ball joint dolls? Would we have to change the chemicals and items we use? Does it absorb color like crazy? How small of a doll could we crate without losing detail? Could you imagine a 1/6th world we could completely create from just our own mind, some software, and a 3D printer? Pretty cool huh? I wonder where technology will take us next. 
Technology, making it fun to be a doll collector. 
Feeling productive,
Michelle
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Wow, I’ve forgotten how I blog. I wanted to make this quick post to try to clean up some things I’d been meaning to do and never gotten to, since I have to take my computer in to be cleaned soon. I’ve got it working ok as long as I have a fan blowing on it. Let me fill you in on something, it’s 33 degrees outside, my room is the coldest room in the house in the winter, my fan is right next to me blowing, and I’m wearing my jacket with the hood up. In short, I do this for you.
So around Christmas time I did a search for dollhouses because I was on the search for different ways to set up one, when I came across this interesting article about a gingerbread house made to look like a dollhouse basically. It was located in Gothenburg, Sweden and basically instead of making your generic gingerbread house the person decided to show the inside of the house as well as the expansive grounds, and all of it, you guessed it, is edible. Pretty neat right? It’s 50 cm, a little over 19 and a half inches tall. And why is it considered the most expensive gingerbread house? In Sweden the house costs 35,000 SEK, or close to 3,000 Euro, if it were that price today it would cost us American peeps roughly $3963.90. A bit pricey for a cookie house, for me at least.
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But isn’t it pretty? You can get some closer views of the inside here. For food it is pretty detailed. This all got me to thinking about how I would create a gingerbread dollhouse for actual dolls to reside in. For one thing I think the house above is missing a gingerbread staple, candies. I think it would have made it look more like a gingerbread house and not just a brown house covered in snow, kwim?
Then I started thinking, would I make it for 1/12th or 1/6th. Now I would prefer 1/6th, but 1/12th seems like it would be easier to work with on a project like this, thinking size-wise and and all. Maybe if I have a kid some day I will entertain this thought again and have them share in the fun of making it with me. But I just had to show you guys this and try to bring some life back to the blog. Still not back yet. I have a ton to do. My emails are backed up again thanks to my computer, and so many other things are being pushed back. If you have emailed me I will get back to you. Sorry about the super delay.
And that’s about it for this post. I will talk to you lovely people later. Be good until then, by for now.
Wishing it wasn’t so cold in her room,
Michelle
A pre New Year’s Eve blog post, can you handle it? 
Surfing around the interwebs today I found a video that is a year old, but new to me and just awesome. The video is an animated version of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity”. The artist did it in an attempt to get the play done in animation instead of live action. Seems it will be live action in the end, but I so wish I could see a full Wicked animation. Oh and in case you were wondering, the artist who did this works for Disney. It’s pretty awesome. Take a look.
I just love the look of storyboards and the concept of them. It kind of makes me think about doll photostories and the preplanning of a scene and how things will go. I don’t do storyboards on paper, but I do do them in my head. I really liked this work and how they did the scene. It just makes me crave more. Who knows, maybe one day. *fingers crossed tight*
And on that note I will wish you all a Happy New Year, and I hope that this year ends on a good note for everyone. Be sure to defy gravity peeps. I know I’m going to try soaring into the air next year. I hope you’ll join me. 
Dreaming of soaring through the air, singing songs from famous Broadway plays,
Michelle
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I hope all of you had an awesome Christmas. Mine was ok. It ended up being mostly just another day for me. I didn’t get my gifts done because I realized late in the game a lot of stuff had to be hand sewn and while I’m getting faster at it, one item can take one or more hours. So while its no sweat to have things be a few days late, I still feel bad about it. But I am coming up with some cute things that I think they will like. This whole process is giving me a lot to think about when it comes to making clothing for dolls. As soon as gifts are done and given out I will be jumping right back in making stuff to sell finally. I think I really needed to get over this fear of creating and making a mistake and wanting it perfect the first time out. I made TONS of mistakes on the clothing I made and I’m learning two things. One, it can usually be undone and redone again. Two, it’s not the end of the world and usually the mistakes are only things I will see and I am being nitpicky about. So yeah, this whole experience is turning out to be good for me.
And I know I owed you something on the 24th, but I was busting ass to try to get those clothes done and yeah that took all day. So umm maybe it will be a New Year’s Eve treat instead. Hey it’s only a couple of more days. Can you believe that? A couple of more days and that’s a wrap on 2011. I don’t even know how to describe this year for me. It’s had ups and downs, thankfully mostly ups. I’m hoping next year will be a better year though. I’m hoping everyone in my life gets into better health and that I can take BIG HUGE LARGE strides towards my future. Fingers crossed tightly.
Silly thing, my mom is kind of sad that today was kind of a bust when it comes to Christmas. She misses how it was and had planned an old fashioned Christmas but things just didn’t turn out that way. So she said she wants a do over and has chosen Valentine’s day to do it. Don’t ask me why Valentine’s day, she just wants it. So I guess I might have two Christmases next year. Who knows. She wants to pull out the top half of the tree and put presents under it and celebrate. LOL! So I guess we will see.
And well that’s all for now guys and dolls. Blog posts will still be sketchy for the next few days as I try to finish gifts, do some Winter Cleaning, and just close out the year on a hopefully good note. So once again I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. 
Popping another piece of candy into her mouth,
Michelle
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I know I owe people some emails and responses still, and I will still get to all that. I haven’t forgotten, just haven’t gotten to it yet. The year is still young, 
Hearing “Uncle” in my head,
Michelle
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Hey peeps, how have you all been? I hope the holidays are finding you well and if not I hope that you get well soon and I send big hugs out to all of you.
So I know it’s been pretty quiet here in “the house”, but I have truly been busy with working on Christmas presents for my mom and sister, shopping for a desk, and stressing over my mom’s health and my health at the same time. So much is going on with my mom as of late, and each new appointment makes me tense up more and more. I mean it’s good she’s going to try to sort out what’s going on, but really they aren’t any closer to figuring it out. They think it’s related to her diabetes, but not sure on it yet. Surgery keeps getting tossed around and I don’t like that idea. She’s not the healthiest gal out there and I worry I’d lose her if she did have to go under the knife. Also she’s been having other issues that they aren’t sure if she will have to have surgery for that as well. Add on top of that that my dad continues to smoke like a chimney and refuses to stick to some quitting aid, my sister’s health is slowly going bad, and then the stress from worrying about all that causes stomach acid which causes my issues to flare up and it quickly turns into a FML situation.
BUT, in light of all that, I just keep telling myself that in this moment right now I am truly lucky, blessed, what have you to be alive and mostly healthy. I have my sister, mom, and dad still with me. My boyfriend is getting better after finding out he had right lung pneumonia. The pets are doing fairly well, Brody still needs to lose some weight but he’s doing well. And well I’m doing better than a lot of people out there so I am trying to think positive and just focus on the positives I do have in my life. Not trying to get preachy on you guys here, so not that kind of gal, just wanting to say that yeah I’m having some issues in my end of the world, but it could be worse so I am happy that it’s not.
Haven’t done much dollwise besides work on Christmas gifts. A few days to go and I still have a ton to make. I got stuck hand sewing several things because it was made with thick stretchy fabric that my machine promptly told me it wasn’t have any of. Evil witch of a thing. So until I start working with my cotton fabric my machine sits on my old desk mocking me as I suffer through hand sewing clothing that easily takes me a few hours to work on. I have a few more stretchy things that I MAY be able to do on my machine and then I move on to cotton stuff, thank everything. I am still determined to finish everything, but it would go so much faster if I did have a new desk.
On the desk front, I decided against the Walmart one. My sister and I were in Staples the other day looking for a lap desk for her and we were by the full size desks waiting for an associate to look in the back to see if he had any in stock, and I asked her if any of the desks in the area were the size of the one at Walmart. My mom had told me the desk was small. My sister walked around and pointed out some that were about the size of the desk and I decided then and there that the desk was not what I wanted. It’s weird, I keep putting off buying the desks I am interested in only to find out they wouldn’t have worked for me in the end, and I am saved from disappointment. I found a table at Roses that was nice and big but it seemed short. To my peeps who sew out there, you understand my being hesitant in wanting to buy it because it seemed to0 short. I don’t want to hunch over to use it. I want my machine a comfortable height and that table seemed low. It was only 40 bucks though and I still think about it. I figure I’ll check back in after the new year and if I still like it and can maybe get a chair to try out the height I might get it.
Now after Roses we ended up at Big Lots and the funniest thing happened. My mom said I should look at the desks there. I looked at some and didn’t like them or their prices. I walked around to a back wall and found the desk I wanted from Walmart only it was the model from last year. That sucker is small. I was really glad I decided against it. But alas, that leaves me to suffer with my desk now that as you have seen is crowded with stuff I have no place to put right now. I need to go through that stuff and chuck some of it, but for now that is where it stays. I really still want that table from Roses. So much room to play with. I didn’t see any boxes there of the table and the display one has a messed up corner, but maybe they have some in back. I have time to think about it.
But I guess that’s it for now. I wish I had more to share with you. I hope to share my doll clothing with you guys eventually. One thing I learned, if you don’t use it you lose it, so umm yeah, I’m rusty right now with the sewing and I feel that it shows. But the hand sewing is making me stronger in that department, so yayyyy!
Ohhhh, before I go, weird thing happened. (Warning, what I’m about to say is sad so if you aren’t into that please skip to the next paragraph. Thanks.) So while I hand sew I watch tv. One show I am hooked on as of late is The Next Great Baker. On the recent show the baker who got kicked off had an in memorandum at the end of the show. I was shocked to see he had died and like many other people I went searching on the web to see what happened. Get this, his body was found on a street that is literally a 5-10 minute drive from my house that I travel on all the time. Seems he shot himself. He was stationed here in town and was a cook for the Army. People think he was suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome and committed suicide. He died on Oct. 24th of this year. It’s just so weird to see someone you were rooting for on a show had died and then to find out he died around the corner from your house at his own hand. I feel so bad for his family. Just another thing that makes me think that while life may be a little hectic for me at the moment it can pale in comparison to others. But yeah, just so weird and sad.
But to try to cheer things up here, I still have a photostory to share with you guys that I took pictures for a longggg time ago. I’ll share it on Christmas Eve. Consider it my silly gift to you.
And on that last note I am off peeps. I am getting tired and need to consider hopping on my exercise bike, that gave me hell yesterday by constantly popping off a pedal, and doing 10 more miles today. Ugh! So close to bedtime too. Hummm, bad choice? Perhaps. But I need to do it. Meh, it’s up for debate since I need to get up early. Wish I would have done it sooner, but I was working on Christmas gifts. Ugh! Kind of can’t wait until I have them all done so I can get back to regular uninterrupted exercise. Ok, enough blabbering, talk to you lovely folks on Saturday. Be good until then. Bye for now.
Sleepy and so ready for bed,
Michelle
Hey guys, quick question, I just updated my cross-blog on Livejournal and it always takes me to the blog so I can make sure it posted right, but I am usually off the blog within 30 seconds. Today I heard something play as I clicked off. When I went back I heard the commercial for the Western Barbie commercial I posted about a while back playing. Does it play for you here on Blogger as well? I assume it does if you come directly to my blog instead of reading the post from your friendslist. I had no idea it played, and if it’s bothersome to some of you I will put videos under a cut from now on. Actually would you prefer I make more under cut posts for you? I do it on Livejournal, but thought Blogger peeps wouldn’t mind. But if you would like more post cuts I’d like to know. Just let me know in the comments section, that I will be getting to this week I promise. I want to make the blog as reader friendly as possible. I am thinking of switching to a plainer layout so it’s easier to read as well. Like I said, I only spend about 30 seconds on it to check the post went up right and then I am gone, at least that is how it is for now. You are the ones that hang out on it, so let me know how I can make it a little friendlier for you. Thanks in advance. Bye for now guys.
Loves ya 
Mouse
Hey guys, I just wanted to pop on real quick to share a few things with you I’ve been meaning to talk about.
So last week I was shopping with my mom and we popped into Tuesday morning that was still pretty bare from Black Friday a week before. So while searching through the toy section I didn’t see much of interested in the girl’s side. But when I turned around just to glance at the boy’s side I found something of interest.
Monster High Day At The Maul Draculaura. I debated for a while on getting her. I have wanted DLaura since the dolls debuted. I wanted her before I wanted Frankie, but just never got her. But there she was and at $9.99 she was a steal. The thing that sold me on her was if I didn’t want her I knew I could sell her easily and get my money back. That is until I got home and my sister’s keen eye caught something I hadn’t. I must be slacking after not doll shopping for a while. Poor DLaura has a big scratch in her eye makeup on her left eye (our right). If that didn’t make me sad, what I found later did. My Tuesday Morning is really dark in the toy section and only had bright light by the door. So it wasn’t until I got her in brighter light that I noticed what I thought was off on her really was off. The outline of her facial heart wasn’t finished on one side, and her fangs were painted on crooked.
Oh sure, I know I could still sell her as is, but it just doesn’t seem right. I thought of taking her back, but my sister said I should just customize her. I have been toying with the idea of customizing Frankie, so customizing DLaura wasn’t out of the question. So I have decided to keep her and customize her. I found a cool tutorial where someone died their DLaura with RIT dye. So there are many possibilities of changing my girls into someone new. But now I have an issue. Now that I have two girls, I only have one boy. I feel off centered now. No, I am not going to collect these dolls because they would truly just be a collection for me and not of much use elsewise for me, so I just want to get one more boy to balance things out. I want Holt Hyde since I have Jackson already. I’ve wanted Holt for a while now too, so I will just get him and that will be it for Monster High for me…although…those create a monster sets look pretty cool. *sigh*
After Tuesday Morning my mom and I headed to a local Dollar Tree, also healing from the affects of Black Friday. I went for nail polish, L. A. Colors if anyone is interested, but of course had to stop by the doll section. Found one more set of the dress set that had the dress that would only fit a Monster High doll.
I decided to get one to see if that was a fluke and also so I’d have extra of the strawberry dress because I really feel that stuff is going to unravel like crazy no sooner I pull out the seams. It was the only dress set left so I figured it was meant to be. Oh and yes, that dress was a fluke.
While I was in the toy section I noticed these doll “heads” that I guess are meant to be hair styling doll heads. Wish I would have gotten a picture. When I am there this week I will get one for sure. But these heads looked very much like Barbie heads. I mean literally if you took away where we were, took away the packaging, you’d swear you’d seen those heads before. I’m really surprised Mattel hasn’t gone after these people since they are so trigger happy when it comes to suing people that are trying to get in on their turf. And there was no mistaking where these molds came from. I know a smiling face Barbie when I see one, and these dolls had that nasty face…sorry to those who like that mold.
And last but not least, I owed you all a picture of my sister’s Bei. Here she is in a Liv doll cotton candy wig and a dress that came with the dress set the wig came in. It was sold at Target if you are interested.
She is so super cute and I simply must have one. I’d love to get a tan girl one day soon. Until then I can play with my sister’s Bei that I believe has been renamed Karina. I’ll update you on that later as well. Karina will be one of the dolls receiving a new wardrobe from me. She’s got a super thick body and big hands and feet so she needs things to be altered a bit for her. I already have some great ideas in mind.
She doesn’t really have a story or personality yet, but what I have learned about her is she likes to wear cute items…as long as they aren’t pink. Ughhh! How can you have cute without pink?!? Those of you cute lovers out there who detest pink, do not attack me, I was kiddingggg. Yes, I have my work cut out for me on this. But like I said, I already have some ideas. Some of course had to be killed off because I was thinking of using dark fabrics and then remembered how resin likes to absorb dye much like Blythe dolls. So if it’s not lined it could make for a problem. I am refusing to be the reason my sister’s doll is ruined. If she ever does get ruined I promise it won’t be because of me. So yes, like I said before, I have my work cut out for me.
And that’s about it for this post. Still kind of busy as of now. I am getting things done but I still have a ton more to get done. I hope to be back to blogging more before the end of the month, but don’t any of you dare hold me to that. 
Loves ya 
Mouse
