Blogging & Life

Yeah... so it's been a little while since I posted, but I swear I haven't been a blog slacker... I've just been blogging over at my other one... a weightloss blog... and getting things ready in the new VoxDolly Zazzle Shop! It's still in it's beginning stages, but I've got some really fun stuff on the VoxDolly Zazzle Shop now that I'd like to share... most of which can be customized with your own text, monogram, fonts, text colors and background colors.

Here are just a few of the fun items now available and I have SO MUCH MORE on the way!!

My Lovely Lagoona Blue

Lagoona in progress... some shading

Customizing my first Monster High doll was so much fun that I just couldn't stop working on her throughout the weekend. I sat and carefully colored small areas with pastel and colored pencil, slowly building up the colors and shading... then putting her down for a while... staring at her... then picking her back up for more.

I spent some time online browsing images of customized MH dolls, especially Lagoona Blues, to see what details I liked the most... and made mental notes on how I wanted my Lagoona's face to look.

I eventually decided to keep her look very serene by keeping the lines and colors a bit soft, with blended shades of blues, greens and black. I'm not quite ready to tackle a re-root, so I wanted to keep the colors in the yellow/green/blue range to go with her hair.I also opted for adding back in her freckles and additional texturing along her hairline to help add to the undersea creature look.

After spray matting her body, I added some freckles and bluish blushing to her upper body. I also painted her nails black and teal, with some shading on the knuckles. Her belly button got some attention and more of the spotty texture was added to her belly. The final step to customizing her body was to add small aqua blue nipples and some shading under her breasts. It's funny, because years ago when I first got into Blythe dolls, I found painted nipples to be a bit disturbing and just didn't "get it" at all... but somehow these MH dolls seem older than Blythes (who always look very young to me, no matter how they're dressed and made up) so it just makes sense to me now.

After adding white acrylic highlights to her eyes I gave her a final coat of MSC Matte. I knew I wanted her to have some natural highlights on her upper cheeks and in the arches of her eye brows, so after glossing her eyes and lips I added just a touch of gloss to those areas as well so that the light will hit and give true highlights.

Now she's all done... just waiting for me to create some sort of clothing... perhaps something whispy and light that will still show off her belly. Overall, I'm in love with my new doll. I had so much fun customizing her that I literally cannot wait to do more!

TBEC Member of the Week!

I woke up this morning with a ton of posts from the Tampa Bay ETSY Crew - they've made me the Member of the Week! Hooray!! I'm so honored and I'm especially excited to have both of the ETSY shops featured by them on ETSY, Facebook and their official website!

THANK YOU TBEC!!

The Tampa Bay ETSY Crew gives sellers here in the Tampa Bay area a chance to interact with others from the community, share creative ideas and of course help promote each other's businesses. I'm a new member having joined within the last few months, so I haven't had a chance to attend one of their awesome craft fairs yet, but I'm looking forward to meeting other TBEC Members in person!

Please be sure to visit the TBEC Facebook page and see what it's all about - and if you're an ETSY seller from Tampa Bay I definitely recommend joining the Crew! www.facebook.com/TampaBayEtsyCrew

I Took the Monster High Plunge

Lagoona Blue (Dance Class) BEFORE

Ever since the Monster High dolls came out I've pined over them, but held back because I'm a Blyther and previous attempts at collecting other dolls (i.e. Pullips) just didn't do it for me. BUT after obsessing over amazing custom MH work over the last few weeks I finally gave into the urge and got myself a lovely little Lagoona Blue (Dance Class version)... and I love her!

As soon as I got her deboxed, I stripped away the clothing and started imagining what kind of customizing I'd like to do... that was yesterday. Before the end of the night I had already wiped her makeup away and given her two hair washes. Today I got out the MSC and started working on her with chalk pastels, colored pencils and acrylic paint.

I've decided to make her eyes just about halfway open, looking to her left... slightly sad, but very soft and whimsical. I'm also considering some individual pieces of teal glitter here and there as shiny aquatic accents, but not totally sure on that yet.

Lagoona's stock paint mostly wiped away

So far I'm really having fun with this new doll and can't wait to get my hands on more of them. I will always love Blythe, but I can only customize my girls so much - and I definitely can't afford to keep buying more. Monster High girls are so much more affordable and I really love how each character has a different face shape, different features and of course the various fantasy skintones.

My Lagoona isn't done yet - these are pics of her progress so far and of course I will be posting more as I go!

Ready for her first spray-matting with MSC!

Porcelain in Progress

So I came into a box of porcelain dolls - not even remotely my kind of dolly, but I took them apart and started customizing the heads... the final results are still up in the air... I think I might end up making some of them into wall decor and some into candle stick holders or other such odds and ends.

So here are a couple of the dolly heads in progress. The sad part is that I actually started these two years ago (or so) and then put them away on a shelf to sit and collect dust. Last night I suddenly got an urge to work on them again and play with shading.

So far I'm pretty happy with the way the orange one is turning out, but the red/pink one is bothering me - I think the eye brows are too high/innocent/thick...? I don't know. But I definitely want to keep adding layers upon layers of beads and fabric and whatever strikes my fancy to build up their headgear. I'm also thinking of maybe flocking for the orange girl... somewhere.

Yeah - as with most of my art projects, these dolls are totally at the mercy of my passing whims and fleeting fits of creative energy, LOL. So where they end up...? I have no clue at this point. Whatever final images I may have had in mind when I first started these dolls have long since left my mind. But I'm excited to see where it goes... and soon I hope to get started with some other custom dolls, but THAT'S a subject for another blog post some other day.

Commission for a Friend

I'm so excited and I wish I could post photos, but the custom doll I'm having commissioned for a friend is total surprise and she doesn't have any idea it's being done. What I CAN say is that it's a Monster High doll, so if she reads this I think she'll suspect it's for her.

I stumbled onto a wonderfully talented MH customizer who just happens to be a Blyther as well - so as soon as the doll is done and sent, I'll be sure to post pics and info as well as links to this awesome artist's ETSY and website!

Even though I'm a Blythe-only kind of dolly girl, I'm becoming more and more interested in the MH dolls - especially the amazing customs out there. They're SO much more affordable than Blythe dolls, so I'm toying with the idea of getting a used one to try customizing myself. I love their cute bodies and wonder if anyone's managed to get a Blythe head to work on an MH body? Of course the skin colors are completely different than the more natural tones of Blythe.

Anyways - the special little MH custom is just about done and after she gets here (and I have myself a quick little photoshoot) she'll be shipped overseas to her new mum. Then I'll finally be able to post pics! I can't wait!!

Ahhhh... Yes... Peace and Quiet

I'm savoring this moment... the hubby just left with the 4-year old... he took her to the park to fly a kite and here I am in total quiet, just me and cats. So nice!

I stay home with our daughter and spend all-day, everyday here since we only have one car and the hubs takes it to work. SO you'd think the last thing I'd wanna do is sit here as usual, but the fact that it's completely void of KID NOISE makes it feel like pure heaven right now ;)

Hmm... so writing the blog is actually a little bit of a procrastination... because even though I'd really love to nap or lay on the couch and read I think I need to use this precious alone time wisely and get some exercise done. I can workout here in front of the tv and Wii pretty much any day with my daughter here, but she tends to take alot of the fun out of it. Either she's fussing because I put in Zumba and she wants Gold's Gym Dance Workout OR she waits until I'm really into the workout and gross and sweaty to inform me that she's hungry or needs help in the bathroom or any number of annoying things.

Anyhoo - I guess the moment has been savored and now it's time to get up and move my booty in relative peace for once :)

Awkward

Oh how I detest those awkward little situations that seem to arise day after day... awkward misunderstandings, awkward mis-communications... awkward feelings that arise when I'm asked to do things that just make me really uncomfortable.

As a freelance designer I find myself cringing and getting hot around the ears when I have to discuss money matters with my clients. I dread billing and actually lose sleep when bills are late, knowing I will have to send a payment reminder. I feel strangely guilty about charging money even though that's the basis of doing business. Is it just me? Why do I feel so weird about discussing my hourly rate with new potential clients?

And then there's the awkward moment when I'm asked to design or illustrate something totally out of my comfort zone or something I find really ridiculous... but it's work, and that's why I'm here... to work. UGH. If there's anything at all that I miss about being employed by a company, it's the comfortable distance from clients' questions and billing. Maybe I'm just not cut-out to freelance? But I have no choice but to suck it up and handle all of this - I've already been doing this on my own for over 6 years now... shouldn't it get easier?

There's also the personal side of awkward that comes from family and friends... asking the impossible (well, the impossible for me) and not understanding why I have to decline. I find myself hiding from Facebook just to avoid the inevitable awkward moment when I have to try to explain why I can't go here or there for this or that reason. For the most part, my reasons are due to lack of money and unwillingness to leave my daughter with a babysitter (ever - is that weird?) but also from my anxiety disorder, which people simply don't understand.

Anyhoo - one good thing has come from all this awkwardness... I decided to make an "AWKWARD" necklace next time I have pendants fabricated for the VoxDolly shop. Surely I'm not the only person who feels this on a regular basis... and why not own up to it by wearing it on myself as a necklace? Maybe I'll make some dolly-sized versions too.

Sweet inspiration... at least that's an area of my life that doesn't feel weird or awkward.

Happy "Ballemtimes" Day!!

My daughter Willow is four and a half, and is extremely excited to celebrate "Ballemtimes Day" today... especially after seeing what her thoughtful Daddy left for her and Mommy to enjoy {pictured to the right.}

She gave me a gift - her own little red monster truck toy {have no idea where that came from} which she presented to me saying, "Happy Ballemtimes, Mommy... look, it's red!"

Right now she's coloring a special pink heart-shaped card for Daddy, which is an awesome way to keep her out of my hair just long enough to check my emails and *hopefully* finish this post! While my hubby and I {together exactly 15 years and 2 days} pretty much stopped with the Valentine antics years ago, having our little boogie-butt around has made silly "Hallmark" holidays like this a bit more fun again.

The fact that SHE gets excited about it makes the day more exciting for us. She gives us a reason to buy chocolates and cupcakes... to pull out the red and pink construction paper and make colorful little "Ballemtimes" for each other... and to feel a little less jaded by the gross consumer-frenzy aspect behind this so-called holiday.

Just Blogging About Blogging

I'm such a lazy blogger... not just now on my brand new Vox Dolly blog, but with every blog I've started in the past (and believe me, there have been MANY) I've struggled to keep at it regularly. But this one is special. Important. And I will force myself to keep at it until it becomes a natural part of my day (or at very least, my week) so that I don't drop yet another blog into obscurity.

But who are we kidding? It's a brand new blog and is starting off in obscurity, LOL.

I've also been a bit reluctant to write because this horrible little broken finger has pretty much halted all Vox Dolly progress for the time being and I can only rant about the finger so much before I have to change the title to "The ZOMBIE FINGER Chronicles" or something. It's so frustrating to open up a new shop, new website and new blog only to have to suddenly stop and nurse a ridiculous injury just days later. ARG!

Anyhoo - despite the lack of awesome ground-breaking content I'm happy I made time today to check in and post. It's not easy creating a new habit out of blogging, especially when there's not much going on... so I'm off to browse the Blythe Kingdom forum and get my dolly juices flowing again. TTFN!

Free Printables - Food Packaging Galore!

WOW - there's a huge gallery full of free printable food items for dolls... all kinds of packages to stock your dollhouse kitchen like boxed cake mix, animal cookies (as seen to the right), pasta, soda and even beer, LOL. I even noticed a haircolor box, which would be really cute in a doll's bathroom and a bag of charcoal for dollies with grills.

Here's the link! Food Mini Printables

Veruca Says Hello

Veruca in her custom VoxDolly necklace

This is my newest dolly girl, Veruca... a factory RBL with fair skin, special chips, ultra thick/soft lashes and long crazy curls in Thumpty Thump's bright purple. I haven't been able to do any customization yet, but I'm loving her as she is for now anyways. Eventually I'd like to do some sandmatting but will probably leave her makeup in tact - it's just too pretty! I also prefer girls who are boggled with sleep eyes so that's on the list, too.

She's wearing a custom heart necklace with her name engraved into it (something I can do for you through the VoxDolly shop!)... it's a bit large for a necklace, so eventually I'll use it as a pull charm for her with new strings. She's also in a shirt/dress I ordered custom made by the talented Maggie Ann of BlytheKingdom @ Etsy - I love the super simple lines and casual style... it's perfect for showing off the VoxDolly pendants. I also got one in white and will probably be going back for more when I can afford to!

So this is Veruca... I haven't figured out her personality yet, except that she's a bit more girly-girly than my other dolls. I can't wait for this broken finger situation to be over so I can get to work on her!

A.M. Ramblings & Fun Find: BlytheLife.com

So it's been an interesting couple of weeks. I still have so many fun items to list in my shop, but progress has come to a standstill with this broken finger making everything so difficult. And also, "Ow, ow... holy freaking OWWW!!!" Ahem... yes, I am a baby... but anyhoo. So assembling & photographing tiny necklaces with a gimpy right hand has proven to be a bit useless... but in the spirit of trying to be positive, I can say one really wonderful thing has happened... I might be a featured new seller on BlytheLife.com for their March Blythe Talent Showcase - yay!!

I came across BlytheLife on Facebook and then checked out the website... it's so fabulous! Blythe dress makers and crafters are featured regularly, with interviews and quite a few cool giveaways! {I LOVE GIVEAWAYS!!!} Plus there are freebies like sewing and knitting patterns. If you haven't visited BlytheLife.com yet, then I strongly recommend it. I added a button in the lower right side of my blog.

Hooray for Fun Finds!! :D

Well, I've just noticed my clock says 2:52 am and I have a 4 year old who will be waking me up in less than 5 hours. Oh how "fun" it is to be an insomniac mommy (O.o) so nite-nite for now.

The Zombie Finger Saga

Opening the VoxDolly shop, getting the website up and of course getting this blog underway have been quite exciting the past couple of weeks... but the "Zombie Finger" has made it a bit more difficult than I'd expected. On the 17th (a normal thursday at first) I somehow managed to injure my ring finger on the right hand. Okay, I basically asked for it... I got extremely frustrated over something and instead of keeping my cool I took it out on an annoying toy sitting on the bookcase. I went to swipe at it with my hand and somehow the one finger managed to smack into the case so hard that everything went white for a few seconds - literally blind with pain.

Photo Credit: http://zombieking.co.uk/

Fun. Fun.

So I put it on ice and cried about it for a bit... but figured it would be a simple bruise and tried to get over it.

That evening the finger turned purple - a deep, dark, gross shade of purple. As I looked closer I saw that it was also bent to the side about 1 cm... and it looked like a tiny zombie finger... hence the name. So I bitched about it a bit on FB and that was that.

As the days went on the little zombie went through various stages of weird colors... pale purplish grey, purpley-blue with tinges of green, then greenish-grey with yellow edges. That Monday, after 4 days of weirdness and pain, it still hurt quite a bit and I'd had enough, so my hubby took me to an urgent care center to have an x-ray. They immediately told me the finger was only sprained and made it seem like no biggie. YAY! So I went on my merry way thinking this little zombie finger would be back to normal soon enough... just needing some rest and occasional ice.

But no... it was not to be so simple afterall.

I found out yesterday (Friday) that the x-ray was misread. Yes... MISREAD! I've been walking around for over a week now with a FRACTURED FINGER! I went through the various stages... denial, confusion, ANGER. I can't believe they read my x-ray wrong... and why was the x-ray re-read... by who?

So now I have a splint and must make an appointment with an orthopedic specialist this week. Lovely. My little zombie finger is still bent, still in pain and still just a little discolored (sporting a pale brownish color today.)

Meanwhile, working on the computer is harder... trying to create more items for the shop is MUCH harder... and packing the items that I've sold so far (plus one from my other shop - CreativeTaylor) has been challenging. NOT the first week of VoxDolly that I'd hoped for, but I'm looking at the bright side. I've made some sales!

A broken finger isn't the worst thing in the world... I do realize that. And I'm feeling very lucky to have already sold items from my shop... and lucky that I have help from my hubby, especially this week when I've needed his help the most.

And so - we shall see what happens next with zombie finger... and if nothing else, it's taught me to take out my frustration in less destructive ways... like punching a pillow instead of a wooden bookcase. Lesson learned.

Meet Velusa

Of course I love all of my dolls, but Velusa is ridiculously special. Velusa was sort of my first Neo Blythe... she was originally a Prima Dolly Violet and came in a set of 3 along with PD Ginger and PD Ashlet, but somehow the seller sent me 2 Gingers and no Ashlet. Maybe this is why Velusa stood out to me... or maybe for the obvious reason - her bright purple hair? But she became my instant fave and has been the one dolly girl to stay with me since 2007, as countless other dolls came and went.

As my Blythe knowledge grew, my taste changed and I've become most enamored with the EBL (Excellent) Blythe face mold. So a few years ago I converted Velusa into an EBL custom, attaching her original PDV scalp onto an EBL Disco Boogie head, and then also fitted her with a Licca body. She's been sanded and has lightly carved lips with very subtle peach coloring. She also has has custom lashes and eyechips, sleep eyes and is boggled... and is currently awaiting some fun new purple pullstrings and custom VoxDolly charms.

Velusa isn't technically perfect by any means - her customizations aren't even remotely professional... but somehow she's just the most adorable doll I've ever seen. Here she is modeling for the VoxDolly shop:



The other dolly girls will definitely be making appearances in the shop as well, but I think Velusa will be the main spokesmodel and face of the VoxDolly brand ;D

Hizzah!! This is the first post... and what is there to say? Well, the VoxDolly website is officially up and running with links and info posted for the shop. Please feel free to go take a peek... it's located at VoxDolly.com AND if you're liking what you see so far, then I would absolutely LOVE to get a "LIKE" from you on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Voxdolly.

The VoxDolly shop is also up and running as of yesterday evening - it's being hosted at ETSY to ensure secure transactions. The shop features adorable little trinkets and charms for your dolls to wear, as well as lovely necklaces, earrings and other cute treasures for you! VoxDolly, while inspired by the dolly hobby, also offers lovely gifts for girls and young-at-heart ladies of all ages... so if you find yourself trying to think of a fun girly gift, then be sure to keep VoxDolly in mind!