One-Off Miruku’s Arrival

When I got the email yesterday afternoon indicating that there was a parcel for me in the pick-up center, my heart leapt! It was my Volks USA one-off from their Grand Reopening Celebration–SD Miruku! I hurried over to claim the package, but I didn’t get to open it until my work day was over and I returned home.

Traveling box!

The box and I jostled home on the train, much to the confusion of other passengers. I was very thankful that I leave my office just before rush hour–I would have had to wait for so many trains if they were actually jam-packed with commuters. I was lucky to have space to set the box down, giving my arms a rest. It isn’t a very long ride, and after a short walk my box and I were safely home~!

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Best Face Forward

Improvised Solution

There’s a headless body about the house!

Basically since the day I purchased her, I wanted to have Mimi’s face repainted. Mimi is a Volks Super Dollfie Nono “2008 Renewal” version. She has Zoukeimura airbrushed makeup in tones of peach and brown. As far as factory face ups go, it’s not all that shabby–but it didn’t really appeal to me in the sort of way that I wanted it to. I wanted to look over at my doll and think, “Wow, she’s perfect!” but instead I’d always look over and think, “:3 Yessss, a Nono of my own.” Not a bad thought, but not exactly what I wanted. The factory faceup is versatile and simple–both things I like–but it was exactly what I would have asked for if I were having her painted on commission.

Finding an artist that seemed right for the task was not easy. In my opinion, Nono can be a difficult sculpt to work with. Her face has very dramatic proportions and features. Her huge eyes are spaced pretty far apart. Her nose is narrow and pointy. Although I looked at the work of many artists, I didn’t see any examples that fit the type of look I’d like or seemed well suited to be painted on Nono’s head. I also kept putting off looking seriously into having Mimi’s face repainted due to the cost. There are face up artists all along the cost spectrum, but when I reflected on the dolls of others that I most admired, it started to seem like I’d be paying for a pricier artist. Pushing the commission of a new faceup to a future month was easy every time I moved it; Mimi already had a decent faceup–I just wanted an upgrade. Upgrades can wait. Continue reading »

2013 Doll Resolutions

I really failed at getting around to making resolutions this year! It’s halfway over already!

I guess that’s okay–because I haven’t made any progress on the things I initially thought I would aim towards, and I’ve changed my mind several times. Whoops. It’s been an interesting doll year so far! I’ve got quite a few things that I need to write about!

In the meantime, here are my current doll resolutions. I’m not going to bother yet with the things I might have considered and abandoned already. XD Continue reading »

2012 Doll Resolutions Follow-Up

It’s that time again for doll-related goals~ I made these earlier in the year, but I hadn’t really thought about them all that much for a little bit. I tried to keep it very simple this year. There was quite a bit from last year that I just didn’t get to. It was an interesting year, though, in terms of doll purchases, arrivals, and departures. I’m looking forward to seeing how things go for 2013! Continue reading »

2012 Doll Resolutions

I didn’t quite get around to crossing everything off of my list of doll-related resolutions for 2012, although I feel like I made good progress. The two that I did not complete in 2011, a faceup for Mimi and a couch for the dolls, were mostly left off due to budgetary constraints. I entered the Volks lottery to purchase a new doll, Dollfie Dream Sister Ms. Mariko and thus allocated funds towards the doll purchase instead of towards a faceup and couch. (I’ll be posting about Ms. Mariko soon; I’m so very excited!) Continue reading »

2010 FCS Milk Tea Omukae

On various doll forums that I frequent, my username is typically “milkytea.” In 2010, “milk tea” was the theme for Volks’ full-choice system welcoming (omukae) outfits. I adored those outfits the moment that I saw them–they’re ruffled, old-fashioned, and in muted tones of ivory, dusty rose, and chocolate brown. I liked the outfits so much that at times I imagined ordering a full-choice doll just to keep the outfit. I kept my eyes open for an FCS split where I could chip in for the outfit, but none were available during the times I would check. Continue reading »