Introducing Spectrum! Another OOAK Doll In The Doll House!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

Uh oh... I've seemingly become somewhat obsessed with doll wigs and customizing lately. I mean, I've done many doll makeovers in my time writing this little blog here but the further I get into my doll hobby, the more bold I get in my choices. Since I do have quite a few dolls (And isn't that a nice calm way to say that about this Doll Army I've been building? Hahaha!) I guess I have decided that some of them deserve a bit more attention rather than collecting dust in their wigs. Right? All dolls need some love afterall. 

So finding the 'fantasy' colored wigs has been so much fun! I say 'finding' them as if I hadn't seen customized OOAK dolls on Pinterest and such. However, I guess I found the wigs so 'expensive' when compared to, you know, an entire new dolls (hair included!) that it seemed silly to buy them. If that makes sense? That being said, now that I really feel I need to stop buying dolls so much, spending 'doll sized money' on new wigs for the dolls I already own started to make more sense. Not to mention that I found the 'first' fantasy wigs I bought  were a really great deal. Finding those made me start to watch eBay for other pretty and affordable options in the fantasy wigs. So that's how I happened to find this one... For some reason, the night I found and bought it, it was marked only $13.99 plus $4.95 shipping! So less than $18 shipped!? What?! Naturally I bought it immediately because the other wigs in the sellers online shop were all in the $30 range save one that I also wanted to buy that was marked a dollar more than this one. However, sometimes when you've spent quite a bit of money on doll stuff your Doll Mad Money can run low and even another $18 isn't in the budget so I just purchased the one. When I went back to look the very next morning, the prices were both back up to $30?! So... Suffice to say I am totally stoked to have gotten at least the one for such a great deal!! (And trying not to kick myself for not buying that second one for such a steal too! LOL) 

So what is the shop? It is called Exquisite Doll Designs and they have both that Etsy shop and an eBay Store for Exquisite Doll . I linked the Etsy shop first because it seems she sells them a few dollars cheaper there (likely because lower fees than ebay I imagine).

So here is the wig as it arrived. I loved the little chevron printed bag and the wig was also in a plastic ziplock bag and a hair net with tissue paper in the cap of the wig to holds it's shape. Very top notch all around.

I decided that Adilyn (on the left) was going to be the one who would be getting a new wig. I originally found her for only $2.99 and brought her home and cleaned her up and admired her... But mostly she just sat on the shelf especially since I got her sister Aliyah  as a gift from my husband. Because I am not trying to play favorites but naturally the doll I got from hubby means at least a bit more to me than her thrifted sister. Is that wrong? Eitherwise, she was collecting dust in her hair. Poor dear. So... It was time for a whole new lease on life! 

Here are the two sisters next to one another for the last time where they both have the gorgeous jet black hair. Don't they nearly look like twins despite Adilyn being a Journey Girl and Aliyah being an Espari doll? Actually, poor Adilyn had been rather roughly played with at her last house and I suspect her hair was quite a lot thinner than it might've been when she was new out of the box. So a new wig wasn't totally out of the question in any case. 

They really are pretty sisters! They are named after a couple of sweet girlies I know in real life who used to be in the Awana program when I was a teacher so they really are special to me for that reason too.

So meet Spectrum Adilyn!! I gave her a new 'fantasy' name but kept Adilyn because I didn't want her to get some manner of identity crisis. Hahaha. She, in my 'doll stories' will still be Aliyah's sister... Just with fancy rainbow hair. 

Isn't she gorgeous!?!?! I know she is going to see a lot more time in Doll House photos now because I smile every time I look at her. 

The wig is really nice and I love it. I am positive that, as soon as June comes and my Doll Mad Money is replenished, I going to be purchasing at least one more. Maybe that is what I'll do, buy one a month as I slowly re-make dolls in the doll house who need more love? So if you're looking for a great doll wig at a great price, check out this great seller. I am sure they'll become a favorite of mine.

I changed the photos to grayscale like I like to do sometimes and thought it was so interesting that in these photos, you'd think she had blonde hair with highlights! Don't you think?

Better run!
Till Next Time!!
XXOO
Heather

Summer Gets a New Body!

Hi Doll Friends!

Once upon a time I gave a Positively Perfect Doll a doll armature because she had a soft body and couldn't even stand up on her own. However, sadly, even though she could stand up, she still had the shoulders that were really not too attractive in shoulders so mostly she just sat on a shelf. Recently, deciding I was no longer going to keep dolls I was luke-warm about, I decided I better do something with her or donate her. So... She got a body transplant.

I couldn't bring myself to part with her because I still think that this doll has one of the prettiest face sculpts I've ever seen and her hair is gorgeous!! So... All I needed was a doll body. Since I was weeding out dolls I wasn't 'in love' with, I had several options to work with.

I decided this doll's skin tone was as close as I was going to get and so it was the one.

So, off with their heads!!  Haha.

When I got 'into' the Our Generation Body that was going to be hers, I realized it was one of the poseable type and, in a way I've only seeen once before, the head was attached to the armature it had. Uh oh! Will the PPD Doll's head fit?!

Luckily they had nearly identical necks and so it worked like a charm.

You'll have to excuse my really dreadful looking stitches. This must be an older OG doll body because the fabric was more of a muslin and acted like it might fray and so I had to make my stitches really overlap the fabric if that makes sense. Luckily clothes will cover it up unless she wears a swim suit and then her hair will likely cover it up.

So... Meet Summer again! She's got a whole new lease on life and will make a great model in future doll photographs! Awesomeness! 

Better run!
XXOO
Heather

Jasmine and Prism Take a Walk

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

Happy Monday! I hope this finds you having had a lovely weekend! I had a great one. Mothers Day was yesterday and my family sweetly spoiled me all day long. My daughter made me some paper flowers and a pretty vase for them to live in and gave me a box of chocolates and two cute erasers that she knew I'd love. My sweet husband bought me a new doll wig (he asked what I wanted!) that is currently on it's way to the Doll House and my son, being a teenager, got up and went to church without a word of grumbling! Sometimes you have to take what you can get! Right? He did give me a great hug and a "Happy Mothers Day" too. So, all in all, a pretty terrific day! Hope yours was fantastic too!

It was nice weather this weekend and so I decided to take my two newest OOAK girls Jasmine and Prism outside for some photos in the pretty sunlight. 

Here they are! Aren't they pretty? As I mentioned, I have another new doll wig on the way in the mail from my husband for Mother's Day... It's a stunning wig that I am going to put on one of my very favorite older dolls. Then I already had one on the way from the very last few cents of my May Doll-Mad-Money because I found it for an amazing price. So... Have you noticed I get on a bit of a 'roll' with things? Right now, I am obsessed with making many of my dolls into OOAK dolls. I mean, not all of them obviously. However, I decided recently that I can only keep dolls I really really love and so I determined to either weed out or re-make the dolls I am lukewarm about. If that makes sense. Haha. I was telling my friend (Hi Frann!) this weekend that it's getting to where, in my collection, no doll is safe from being customized!!! 

I am having a lot of fun with it though and I suppose that's the point of all of it isn't it? Playing dolls should be fun. Right?

Between customizing and doll photography, I think those are two of my more favorite doll passtimes at the moment... Speaking of doll photos, have you checked out the PCR American Doll YouTube channel yet?  In a somewhat frenzied pace, I created and posted videos, initially, made from whatever good doll photos I happened to have in my phone still from prior blog postings. I decided to 'cut my teeth' on them with regards to how to edit and post them and whatnot. Despite not having been photographed specifically for YouTube, some of them ended up very cute. I also had a really fun time photographing the very first sequence of photos specifically with a video in mind that is named Cala's Big Day that came out well. So, I am chomping at the bit to make another little 'movie', I just need to find the time to do the photos. I am sure that at least one or two of my OOAK dolls will be in the next one! I am amazed by the stop motion photography movies I see posted by some young women but don't know if I'll ever be patient enough to make one of those? I think of the ones I want to make as more like the old school silent movies or 'progressive photography' I guess. I am rambling... Back to Jasmine and Prism and their walk!

Jasmine is wearing a cute OOAK I got as a gift from Frann! Isn't it perfect on her? She said to tell you it's so comfortable too!

Here are the girls next to a tall tree in the middle of some huge hosta leaves!

I just love the way they look in the natural light. 

The colors in their wigs look so much brighter outside don't you think? 

Jasmine tried to talk Prism into climbing a tree but Prism is terrified of heights. She couldn't even watch Jasmine climb up there without getting light headed!

"Please come back down before you fall and break your neck!" Prism says to Jasmine!! Jasmine just laughed and told her she was missing a great view!!

That's it for now Doll Friends!!

Have a fantastic day!
XXOO
Heather

***OUTTAKE PHOTO!!***

*PHOTOBOMB!* My dog decided she wanted to be in the photo as well!!
Haha!
💓

Meet Prism! My Latest OOAK Doll!!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!

I seem to be on a roll lately with custom OOAK dolls... As I mentioned in my last post about the kitchen remodel in the Doll House I got a bit of a windfall of Doll Mad Money and decided this time, instead of buying any new dolls, I would focus on re-making dolls I already own but am not utterly in love with over into dolls I love. 

I've always wanted to buy a Beautifully Custom Doll Wig but they are generally nearly $50 each and that's more than I ususally pay for a whole doll! However, for whatever reason, when they restocked this time they offered a beautiful rainbow colored wig for only $26 with free shipping! So I knew the time was right to try them and was so excited to get my pretty new doll wig.

It arrived very quickly, just a few days after I ordered it! I couldn't wait to open it up and put it on!!

It was packaged up so nicely in a really pretty fabric draw string bag and you can tell by just the weight of the wig that it's a good quality one. 

Look at all those pretty colors!! I knew exactly which doll I was going to use the wig for.

I'd recently found an American Girl Felicity at Goodwill and had cleaned her up and put a wig on her... But I wasn't totally in love with her in the new wig. So, Felicity it was!

So... Meet Prism!! My newest OOAK Doll! I love love love her!!

I am sure she will be a favorite in the Doll House now because I think she is just so pretty! What do you think? I sure hope you like her too.

Better run!
Till Next Time!
XXOO
Heather

Introducing Oliver and Jasmine! New Custom My Life As Dolls in the DollHouse!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!

When I first started getting interested in 18inch dolls, I always admired peoples 'fantasy' type custom dolls with fun colored wigs and such. However, to make one, it's pretty expensive. American Girl Dolls cost $115 each and, as far as I ever found, the nice 'fun colored' wigs I found were like $50 each. So as much as I thought it would be fun to own a 'fantasy' type doll, I am much too cheap to spend that much money on a doll really... You know what I mean? Still, I would look at the fancy wigs on eBay and Etsy just because I thought they were so pretty. Then, a week or so ago...

I found an Etsy Shop called LollyLueStephens that had really pretty fantasy wigs for less than I'd seen before! The boy wigs were $9.99 and the fun colored ones were from $19.99 to $21.99!! What?! They were gorgeous too!! As fate would have it, I'd just gotten a bit of a windfall of fun money into my hands at exactly the same moment I found them. So... As you may imagine, I ordered a few! Haha. They arrived yesterday in the mail and I was so excited to open them up!!

As you may have read in this post I actually specifically purchased a My Life As Diving Instructor doll at Walmart to customize. I wanted a doll that looked just like another My Life As Doll I'd recently gotten to celebrate when the blog hit 60K views so I could make them 'fantasy' doll boy girl twins with two of the wigs I bought. So as soon as I got the wigs, I started cutting off their hair and putting on the wigs... I just knew they were going to look amazing!!

And I was so right!!! Aren't they fabulous!?!?! I wasn't sure what to name them and so I decided I would ask my daughter to name them because she loves fantasy type dolls. So, she considered for a few moments and then came up with Jasmine and Oliver. Isn't that perfect? So, meet Jasmine and Oliver!! I am so excited to have them in the doll house! 

The wigs really are great quality and very thick and nice. I think that My Life As Doll heads might be a tiny bit bigger than American Girl Dolls because I first tried Jasmine's wig on an American Girl Doll to see how it fit one so I could tell you and it fit very well... 

The wig cap appears, when you open the package, to be way too small for the doll. (I honestly panicked for a moment!) but it stretches a lot and it actually fits the AG doll so well you might be able to get away with not even glueing it down and it'd still be ok to play with anyway because the tightness of the cap would hold it on rather effectively. You know, perhaps you want a doll that can change her look back and forth. However I wanted my Jasmine to be able to be played with by actual kids at some point and so she needed to be glued down. As I say, I think My Life As Dolls heads might be a smidge bigger because honestly it was a bit of a struggle (and a few moments of panic) to get it on well as I was trying to glue it on. Then again, it makes me pretty anxious to glue on any wig for some reason so that was part of it. After a bit of pulling and stretching and wiping stray glue away, I got it on and loved it! I love love love Jasmine and am sure she'll be a favorite in the Doll House! Interestingly enough, the boy doll wig cap seemed larger and easier to put on. 

As I mentioned I bought a 'few' wigs... Well, in addition to Jasmine and Oliver's wigs, I decided to buy one of the nice brown boy wigs for my Josh Doll. He was one of my very first 'custom' dolls and I was the one who cut his hair. At the time I thought I'd done a pretty good job... But he did have pretty wild hair. Teehee. I loved him though because he was my Josh doll! I actually bought a boy wig as a replacement a while ago but at the time I told the real Josh that I was going to change his dolls hair and he said "Well, I've kind of gotten used to him the way he is" and I was so touched that he liked the way I'd made him that I ended up giving that wig to Kevin Doll. However, when I saw the boy doll wig at LollyLueStephens, I knew it'd be perfect for Josh doll.

Doesn't he look so handsome?!?!? I love love love him!! So excited for future photos shoots with Josh and Heather Dolls now because he really does look just like my husband now! How fun!

I meant to take photos of the wigs off the dolls to show you the wig caps but in my total excitement to get them put together, I totally glued them down before I thought to. I have to report that they are pretty top notch and well made!! Like I said about the girl one, it seemed way too small at first but ended up fitting just right. So, if you're looking to customize a fantasy doll of your own and are looking for a more affordable option for fantasy wigs, check out LollyLueStephens wigs! They also have an eBay Store so you can find them there as well. I am sure I'll get more of their wigs in the future myself. This one is my next favorite but they are all fabulous! 

Better run!

Have a fantastic day!

XXOO
Heather