Today, while in the midst of packing up to move, I took pictures of my doll sets without small populations in them, just so I could have record of how I arranged things. Then, when I set things up in my new place, I will have reference shots.

EDIT: I notice that I didn’t get pictures of sets in the living room, but I’m still posting these here for posterity.

Continue reading Doll sets before moving

This is how I prepared the latest permutation of my vegetarian chili.

Prepare 1 lb carrots by slicing. Put into food processor 0.25 lb at a time. Pulse for 1-2 sec until grated, not liquefied.

Prepare 1 large white onion in the same way.

Put carrots and onion in large flat-bottomed pot along with 1-2 tbsp [?] vegetable oil, 2 tsp [?] salt, 2 tsp [?] cumin, 1 tbsp [?] chili powder, 1-2 tbsp [?] minced garlic from jar.

All measurements are approximate because I’ve given up measuring. The oil keeps the veggies from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Putting some spices in the veggies at this point allows the flavors of the spices to penetrate the veggies.

Turn heat on to a bit less than medium. My current stove’s burners are measured in the following increments: low, 2, 3, 4, med, 6, 7, 8, hi. I set the burner on 4.

Start cooking. Stir with spatula or wooden spoon so as not to scrape pot’s bottom.

Meanwhile, dice 2 peppers. I like yellow or orange because they are sweeter. Add to the cooking veggies.

Cook veggies. Stir semifrequently. Watch larger pieces of carrot and onion from imperfect food processing. Cooking is done when larger pieces of carrot are tender and larger pieces of onion are translucent. This takes 15-20 min.

Remove pot from heat when done. Let cool. Refrigerate overnight. I do this because I dislike cooking and am very impatient; I would rather do two shorter stints of cooking than one extended one. Also refrigeration overnight allows the flavors to mingle.

The next day, take out the pot and put it back on the stove. Again I put the burner on 4. Add some vegetable oil to keep things from sticking. Stir semifrequently until simmering.

Add 6 tsp minced garlic from jar, 2 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano. Cook for about 1 min.

Add 2 cans diced salsa style tomatoes with garlic. Stir.

Add 2 cans reduced sodium black beans, drained. Stir.

Add 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained. Stir.

Add 2 regular cans corn, drained. Stir.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-60 min.

Meanwhile, heat 3.5 cups water to boiling in another pot. Add 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice. Cook until rice is all cooked and all water is absorbed. With a burner set on 4, this takes about 15 min.

Put all the rice in with all the chili. Mix it in with spatula.

This makes a whole honkin’ lot of food, about 15 days of lunches at 1 cup of food per lunch.

MGA’s Make It Mini Miniverse recently issued a set of miniature alcoholic drinks, and @natalunasans surprised me with three of them. Among others, I got the set that I was most excited about: the set with four tequila shots and a golden octopus to hold the glasses. I added red rhinestones to the octopus’ eyes and invented my own multicolor drinks with my various resins. Then I took pictures of [from left], the Hippie, the Magister, and the Stylist with their drinks.

Continue reading The Elder Witches and their octopus tequila shots

It’s based on this vegetarian chili recipe by Cookie and Kate, from which I then concocted this recipe.

In a big flat-bottomed pot, heat oil on medium with lid on.

Then add one diced yellow pepper, [I forgot it this time] a diced white onion, 1 lb. diced carrots [I measured this time]. I added 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp cumin at this stage so they could soak into the veggies. Cook until veggies are tender and onion translucent, 15 to 20 min.

Add 6 tsp minced garlic from jar, 2 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano. Cook for about 1 min.

Add 2 cans reduced sodium black beans in juice, 1 can reduced sodium dark kidney beans in juice, 1 small can jalapenos, 2 regular cans corn without juice, 1 can diced salsa style tomatoes with garlic. Stir.

Wait till the chili comes to a low simmer [blorp blorp] on medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 min, but up to 60 min if you want.

Used some leftovers from various MGA Make It Mini Miniverse kits as well as some polymer clay decorations sold for nail art.

Continue reading Made some more miniature gelatin salads today

It’s based on this vegetarian chili recipe by Cookie and Kate, from which I then concocted this recipe.

In a big flat-bottomed pot, heat oil on medium with lid on.

Then add one diced yellow pepper, a WHOLE diced white onion, A BUNCH OF diced carrots [2 CUPS?]. Cook until veggies are tender and onion translucent, 7 to 10 min.

Add 6 tsp minced garlic from jar, 2 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano. Cook for about 1 min.

Add 2 CANS reduced sodium black beans in juice, 1 can reduced sodium dark kidney beans in juice, 2 CANS jalapenos, 1 REGULAR CAN corn, 1 can diced SALSA STYLE tomatoes with garlic, and SALT. Stir.

Wait till the chili comes to a low simmer [blorp blorp] on medium. Simmer for 30 min.

Modifications from last time: Added a whole onion instead of half. Added more carrots. +2 tsp minced garlic. 1 tbsp smoked paprika instead of 1.5 tsp. +1 can black beans. 1 regular size can corn, not small can. Salsa style diced tomatoes because they’re cut smaller. Added salt at the simmering stage.

Results: I mixed half of this with rice and immediately took it for a week’s lunches. I froze the other half. As of July 15th, I just finished the first half after 6 days of lunches. It had a satisfyingly thick mouthfeel, robust flavors, and plenty of burn from the chili powder.

This evening, I thawed the other half, cooked rice, and mixed it in. Then I sampled the second half. Hooo-whee! The heat of the chili has intensified over time, and all flavors have coagulated, creating a thicker, more umami chili. It’s definitely going to be better the second week!!

It’s based on this vegetarian chili recipe by Cookie and Kate.

In a big flat-bottomed pot, heat oil on medium for at least 10 minutes.

Then add one diced yellow pepper, half a diced white onion, about 2 diced carrots, and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook until veggies are tender and onion translucent, 7 to 10 min.

Add 4 tsp minced garlic from jar, 2 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano. Cook for about 1 min.

Add 1 can reduced sodium black beans in juice, 1 can reduced sodium dark kidney beans in juice, 1 large can green chiles, 1 small can jalapenos, 1 small can corn, 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic. Stir.

Wait till the chili comes to a low simmer [blorp blorp]. This is probably halfway between medium and low heat. Simmer for 30 min.

Modifications: Used white onion instead of red. Left out celery because I hate it. Probably added more than 2 carrots’ worth of carrots. Left out bay leaf. Added green chiles, jalapenos, and corn. Used only 1 can diced tomatoes because that’s all I had.

Results: I like the smoky notes from the paprika, the juicy crunch from the peppers, and the burn from the jalapenos. Add entire white onion and another can of beans.

I was displeased with Mini Silencitx and Mini Ethancitx being the same height. Ethan is two years older than Silence, so, at such a young age, the difference in height between the two would be noticeable.

To that end, I spliced the top half of the Mr. Z toddler body onto the lower part of an MGA Rainbow High Junior Karma body. I’m ignoring the double navels as well as the difference in color between upper and lower parts because the results work well enough for me. I’ve retained some necessary torso flexion and made Mini Ethancitx when clothed look like a pudgy kid who’s older than Mini Silencitx.

In the first pic of him dressed, Mini Ethancitx wears the pajamas from the rescently released MGA Rainbow High Junior Skyler. He also wears her slippers and carries her cosmetics case with some nail files and nail polishes in it. He looks adorable!!

Continue reading New body for Mini Ethancitx!

I think I just leveled up in disgustingness of gelatins. The one on the left is Veggie Medley according to the Magister and Barf on a Plate according to Little Night. The one on the right is Spicy Volcano according to the Magister and Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should according to the Stylist. Even the Magister looks a little dubious about their edibility!

I think Veggie Medley is lumpy and slippery in a bad way that no one likes, while the Hippie figured out that Spicy Volcano goes nicely in tacos.

Veggie Medley is made of 1) clear resin containing chives, mustard seeds, and red pepper flakes, 2) translucent red resin containing whole cherry tomatoes, and 3) clear resin containing boiled egg slices and carrot slices, garnished with 5) boiled egg slices on top and 6) pickle slices around the base. Spicy Volcano is made of 1) orange “hot sauce” resin mixed with translucent red and translucent yellow resin with 2) layers of yellow “cheese sauce” resin, “hot sauce” resin, and translucent yellow resin for sauce and garnished with 6) grated cheese, 7) chives, and 8) red pepper flakes.

Continue reading The Magister’s gelatins, part III!

My most recent forays into miniature things made with resin have been greatly enhanced by the baker’s dozen of colored UV resin bottles that @natalunasans sent me!

Continue reading The Magister’s gelatins, part II!

The Magister has a fondness for gelatinizing things. He has at least one cookbook all about encasing things in gelatin. In May, I even got him a mini gelatin salad all his own!

I unironically love the creative things people were doing with gelatin and aspic and jellied things, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. Ever since I made the Magister his own cookbook and got him his own gelatin salad, I wished that I could make my own mini gelatins.

MGA has been issuing an extremely popular line of Make It Mini miniature food craft kits that include little bottles of resin, little ingredients in little packaging, and little utensils. From previous sets, I have amassed at least 20 mini bottles of resin [meant to serve as cream cheese, soda, maple syrup, hot sauce, etc.], many cut fruits [including bananas, strawberries, and pineapple], and some vegetables and spices. I have been saving them to make veggie salads, fruit salads, desserts, and, of course, gelatin fudz. When MGA released Blue Razz Jelly, a mini reusable silicone mold for a blue raspberry gelatin dessert containing raspberries, I ordered my own small silicone molds, suitable for chocolates, as well as Blue Razz Jelly. I organized all my bottles of resin and all my inclusions [things to put in the resin] and waited eagerly for my vacation, when I planned to make many gelatin salads.

I started off on December 19th with one of the chocolate silicone molds. Unlike the MGA Make It Mini silicone mold, the chocolate molds are…well…chocolate-colored and opaque, which makes curing the resin a challenge. MGA uses UV-activated resin in the Make It Mini fudz, and anything that blocks the penetration of UV light, such as the opaque silicone of the chocolate molds, inhibits the resin setting. Putting in too many inclusions can also complicate the curing, as I discovered when my first experiment came out uncured on top because too many mini marshmallows blocked the UV rays. My first result did not look sophisticated and exciting at all, but it did look like a remarkably realistic culinary experiment performed by dorklets who cared more about stuffing it full of sweet ingredients and less about making something aesthetically pleasing.

Continue reading The Magister and his many mini gelatin salads!

I bought a lovely little limited edition Little Witch Doll, Seattle Grunge version, made by dollmaker Isabel Anderson. Down to $95.00 from $115.00 for a Black Friday sale, she ended up being $115.00 with free shipping. I loved her thick eyebrows, sculpted eyelids, and terminally unimpressed expression.

Continue reading Lizzie the unimpressed witch

Sweet Sue got a new wig off Ruby Lane, an online marketplace, after years of looking frazzled and neglected. Her new wig may look frazzled, but that’s just because it’s as old as she is. The style looks much better!

Now I just have to do something about her bloomers always falling down…

Continue reading Sweet Sue got a new wig!

I’m just writing down her name somewhere so I’m less likely to forget it.

Continue reading Innovna, Mattel Signature Yara Shahidi head on Mattel Made To Move body!

I moved the Kenner Bride head from @natalunasans over to a TB League/Phicen Lady Death action figure body for greater articulation. She’s wearing a Mezco Living Dead Fashion Victims dress, Mattel Barbie leggings with breakfast foods, a Mattel Barbie Extra motorcycle jacket, and bootfeet from an unknown action figure.

Even though she’s in Bride of Frankenstein makeup here, Fay Pompion is actually a regular person. She’s a voice actor and self-proclaimed “scream queen” known for screaming with great emotion a la Fay Wray.

Continue reading Fay, a Kenner Bride of Frankenstein head on an action figure body!!

The only articulated body matching the Mattel Princess of South Africa head is a tall Mattel Made To Move body with freakishly elongated torso and legs. To reduce this doll to a more realistic height, first I set her next to a standard Made To Move body. As you can see, most of the extra height comes from the torso and the legs. I took 0.5 cm from the ankles and the wrists and about 1.5 to 2 cm from the middle of the torso.

Continue reading Johanna, a Mattel Princess of South Africa head on a Mattel Made To Move body!!

Bell is an unusual doll, being a stylized, but not idealized, elderly woman. She’s a JPT X POP JPT-003 Hunter figure that I bought nude with heads. Head sculpt, torso, and hands are all sculpted to detail her loss of subcutaneous fat, prominent bones, and age spots. Unfortunately she arrived with a split down the front of her neck, so her head is kind of balancing precariously on her neck. She’s really amazing. I love her watchful expression.

Continue reading Put together Bell over the weekend!

I finally got around to putting back together Aphanarit and Reeve, who were beautifully rehaired from their default states by Trini doll fan ZielaHime!

Continue reading Aphanarit and Reeve have new hair from ZielaHime!

Like Pippilotta, Big Night is a Takara Cy Girl CG02 head…now with the same vivid orange mohair hairs! Continue reading New hair for Big Night!

After hanging out bald for a while, Pippilotta finally got some new hairs recently. I used hot glue to stick small bunches of mohair to her head. Continue reading Pippilotta gets new hair!

Vaguely inspired by Love and Lemons’ Easy Vegetarian Chili.
1 white onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
oil
1 can 14.5 oz Signature Select diced tomatoes with chiles
1 can 14.5 oz Signature Select fire roasted salsa style tomatoes
1 can 15 oz Signature Select low sodium dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can 15 oz Signature Select low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can 4 oz Signature Select diced mild diced green chiles
1 jar 16 oz Green Mountain Gringo medium salsa
salt
a lot of steamed veggies [~1 lb.?]
Dice onion. Add oil to pan. Put in onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent. Add 1 tbsp [?] salt and 4 tbsp salsa.
Put all the other ingredients in a pot. Put the sauteed stuff in same pot. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Eat over rice with freshly squeezed lime juice and plain yogurt.

Results: A bit soupy. Drain salsa next time? Very good with plain yogurt. Cleans out the sinuses. Tastes really good even without lime juice, but the plain yogurt really boosts the flavor. Good, but not hearty.

Changes to make: Use 2 cans of diced green chiles. Use 2 cans black beans. Add 1 can corn. Omit salsa style tomatoes.

I’m moving in to my new place, a two-bedroom apartment. Dolls are going everywhere!! Continue reading Dolls all over my new place!

I love my new Dia de los Muertos roombox by Springfield-based Vermont carpenters and Etsy sellers Bitty House. Copying and pasting from my review on the site: “Bitty House’s 3/8″ plywood walls and floors ensure a durable product, and their expertise in regular carpentry translates into a meticulous attention to small-scale detail. This wonderfully designed three-piece set has a floor with faux boards, a long wall, and a short wall with a window. The floor piece has tongues that fit into grooves on the wall pieces. This tongue-in-groove mechanism works smoothly and allows the set to stand sturdily without adhesive or nails [though of course you could use these to put the set together permanently. Besides being cleverly designed, the set boasts exceptional finishing. Vibrant, playful, versatile, and worth your money!”

I would change just one thing about the roombox, however. The walls aren’t high enough. I’ve already ordered a second roombox in the same pattern, but with walls 20″ high.

The core Hardshippers are using props that come with the dolls from Mattel’s G3 reboot of Monster High: Draculaura’s bat-winged pretzels and cherry juice, Toralei’s cat food and milk, Lagoona’s Kelp Krisps and goldfish crackers, Clawdeen’s Howl Puffs, and Ghoulia’s Brain Puffs. Not a great fan of the dolls themselves, but I think the clothes and accessories are great, especially these spooky snacks. I suppose I could have made my own, but buying them already completed was easier.

Some furniture in this set, such as the purple couch with fangs, the clawed table, and the coffin-shaped bar table, come from the new Mattel Monster High Coffin Bean cafe playset. Amazing stuff and perfect for a ghoulish cafe in a town like Hardship, where Halloween is an official holiday!

Continue reading A new room set / room box / set and some G3 Monster High props

I made some party blowers / noisemakers for my dolls today.

 

I did this by cutting a plastic-covered paper clip into a short straight length for the core. I wrapped a short strip of origami paper around the core and pulled the core so that it stuck out one end to be the mouthpiece. For the other end, I took a twist ties off my bags of bagels and flattened it. [Fortunately it came with a party-like diagonal striped design.] I cut one end of the twist tie to make it tapered and hot glued it into the open end of the roll of origami paper. I then used the wire in the twist tie to pose the streamer end in the middle of uncoiling. BLAAAAAAAAAAT! SQUAAAWK!Continue reading The Elder Witches annoying each other with party blowers

@natalunasans got me the MGA Bratz x Jimmy Paul Pride dolls Nevra and Roxxie. I customized them by giving them haircuts, removing their [fabulous but too bulky] rainbow faux fur items, and taking off some accessories so I could better see their VERY GAY details. The groovalicious 1970s swirly designs on the packaging will be used as backdrops for my sets. Continue reading Customized Very Gay Bratz!

Besides writing and shooting a doll photostory about the Stupid Bags Collection [part I], I also worked on a few other things.

I tried to use Obitsu 24 knee joints to articulate the elbows of an MGA Rainbow Poopsie Surprise 14″ doll. It did not work as planned, so no pics.

Continue reading All in a day’s work: Various doll projects from today

I visited LyraJean yesterday, and we hit two independent thrift stores run by the nonprofit Listen in the White River Junction / West Lebanon area. She keeps telling me about all the great doll stuff that she finds in the Listen stores, so I had hopes of scoring big. Continue reading Stuff from West Lebanon area thrift stores!

I’ve always envisioned Little Theo as a short, fat kidsy, kind of like Little Night, although pubescing earlier. Therefore an MGA Rainbow High body [from Mila Berrymore] seemed the best choice. Now that I have finally completed the mods today with the addition of a torso joint, I can show off comparison pics between a standard RH and Little Theo. Continue reading Making a short, fat kidsy: Little Theo on a modded RH body

Megan Meehan, a character from Zombieville, has been through several bodies and styles over the years. The only constant remains her head, a Mattel Barbie Hispanic Sterling Silver Rose with a magnificent purple and white cone of hair and some facepaint enhanced by me. Here she is in her current form. Continue reading Megan the astronaut princess!!

Madam Violet, who contributed a story to my first charity anthology Master Works, also goes by queen-of-meows on Tumblr. A year or two ago, I gave her my 1:9 scale Thirteen, Missy, and Bill dolls because I wasn’t playing with them anymore. She was so thrilled that she vowed to return the favor with some equally wonderful things for dolls. She too customizes dolls, repaints them, and makes clothes for them. The package arrived from France earlier this week, but I did not get a chance to admire its contents until today. Photos of the choicest items follow. Continue reading Some gifts from a fellow doll lover!

Bubbles [mannequin] is a Shadow High Naomi.

Daisy Bee is on a Rainbow High Delilah Fields body.

Delilah Fields [mannequin] is on an RH Poppy Rowan body.

Emeraud is on an RH Sunny Madison body.

Leila is on an RH Robin Sterling body.

Ghoulia is on an SH Nicole Steele body.

Mirabel is on an RH Kia Hart body.

PJ is on an RH Jett Dawson body.

Rosie is on an RH Vanessa Tempo body.

Little Theo is on an RH Mila Berrymore body.

Wave 4 of Rainbow High characters introduces my mostest favoritest character, Delilah Fields, a diffident creative writing major. She is an albino Black girl with a pale yellow palette. The spectacular shirtdress on the doll, as well as the cute daisies and bees in her accessories, attracted me. The character’s personality on the show [which is surprisingly cute for an extended doll advertisement] and her focus also got me. Continue reading RH Delilah Fields inspires a new character, Daisy Bee!

My latest job has an actual office that I go to everyday. It has no windows, so lots of white walls to decorate. I am slowly making it doll-themed… Continue reading Dolls at my office

Finally finished touching up some Violet Flyer Real Littles shuz.

Continue reading Touching up Real Littles shuz

Laura Art x Toycity produces some highly stylized blind box figures of little kids with different themes. I got a few from the Passion Fruit series and the Pool Fight series, with the goal of repainting at least one and putting the head on a more articulated body. Results below. Continue reading Repainting a Laura Art x Toycity figure

Elva is on a Rainbow High Robin Sterling body. But she needs a darker, cooler colored body.

Emeraud is on an RH Vanessa Tempo body. But I recently ordered an RH Sunny Madison body for her because I dislike the floppy knees that her current body has.

Ghoulia is on a Shadow High Nicole Steele body.

Mirabel is on an RH Kia Hart body.

Leila is on an RH Robin Sterling body.

PJ is on an RH Jett Dawson body.

Rosie is on an RH Vanessa Tempo body.

Elva is on a Rainbow High Robin Sterling body.

Emeraud is on an RH Vanessa Tempo body. But I recently ordered an RH Sunny Madison body for her because I dislike the floppy knees that her current body has.

Ghoulia is on a Shadow High Nicole Steele body.

Mirabel is on an RH Kia Hart body.

PJ is on an RH Jett Dawson body.

Rosie is on an RH Vanessa Tempo body.

I acquired a 1:8 scale model of a Benz Motorwagen recently, and it looks so damn cool. However, 1:8 scale is too small for my 1:6 scale dolls, so I decided to enlarge the seat and extend the tiller so that Silence could drive it and Ethan could be passenger. Continue reading Modding the Motorwagen

Last month I designed some labels for miniature canned goods. The labels themselves are public domain images from the early days of canned foods, around the 1880s to the early 1900s. I merely fiddled with the image size and color to prepare them for printing. “My plastic friends” [as @natalunasans calls them], NMI Plastics in Kewadin, MI, printed plastic cans to my specs for me to put the labels on. Pics below. Continue reading Vintage industrial size canned goods in 1:6 scale!!!

Did some more work on the airship cabin this evening… Continue reading Steampunk airship cabin: mocking up

I have acquired some stuff for interior deco for the steampunk airship cabin. Continue reading Steampunk airship cabin: deco, levers, curtains

I unscrewed a lot of screws and removed the kitchen unit and the center floor. Cleaning and modding will now be easier. The space is much larger than I expected! I wonder if I can put a bathroom in there somewhere… Continue reading Steampunk airship: removed center floor and kitchen unit

This weekend I got in the mail an Our Generation RV Seeing You camper. Though made for 18″ dolls, the camper is undersize for them. With slight modification, it can be made suitable for 1:6ers and turned into a steampunk airship cabin!! There are some pics below of its current state.Continue reading Steampunk airship base

Got some more 1:6 scale potions [as well as a wonderful shelf for them!] from TinyNaturals to complete my rainbow. Continue reading Rainbow of potions achieved!

Found a way to organize all my Zuru 5 Surprise Mini spices and increase kitchen storage space at the same time. Continue reading Mini magnetic spice rack for Pretty Maid tin litho stove

Improved my toy store’s shelves. I used to have a shot glass display shelf for the toys, but that was too dark, with deep shelves. Unfinished wood mini bookcases work much better. Less wasted space. They take up less room too. Continue reading New shelves for toy store!

I’ve collected a variety of charming miniature glass bottles from Michelle Currie at TinyNaturals Gift Shop on Etsy. The Elder Witches love them! Continue reading New potions and notions for the Elder Witches!

Warlord Games has made pewter 28mm scale gaming minis of almost all the Masters: Delgado, Ainley, Pratt/Beevers, Yana, Simm, and Missy. I’m collecting them all and having them professionally painted so I can have a chronological set of mini Masters through Missy. Also Warlord Games didn’t make a Roberts Master, so I’m using a hooded cobra mini to represent that incarnation, as he looks like a blue ghost snake before he possesses Roberts’ character. Continue reading Miniature Masters

My newest custom got the steampunk power chair! Continue reading Emeraud, customized new Mattel Barbie Looks

The dorklets now have one. Continue reading One horse open sleigh!!

I got on a sock-sweater-making kick in the past few days. After wearing out my obsession about 5 years ago, I resumed it recently. I made 4 sock sweaters for the dorklets for an upcoming photostory. Continue reading Makin’ sock sweaters, du ti du ti du

I love the MGA Rainbow High fashions, but the bodies leave a few things to be desired. I’m not a fan of the short torsos and small hands, but I can deal with that. I have much more of a problem with the limited articulation. Out of the box, the body can’t sit up straight. Elbows only bend 90 degrees, as do legs. Also, I put Barbie heads on the necks, but the neck range of motion for a smaller head is very limited. Modding to the rescue! Continue reading Improving poseability of MGA Rainbow High dolls

I bought some bunches of miniature dried plants from Etsy, and the seller threw in a lot of extras, so I made several bunches of dried herbs for the Elder Witches. Continue reading Dried herbs for the Elder Witches

Finally, Allison 3.0 has her final headsculpt with final hair! Her Afro puff wig came [much later than expected], and she’s now complete! Thus I have achieved one of my goals for this year — to finish updating all the Big Dorklets! Continue reading At long last, Big Allison is complete!

I pulled out my magic supplies that I’ve been collecting and glued them all to a shelf. Now I can easily add witchy supplies to any scene. Continue reading Shelf of witchy supplies

I got an 11cm doll body and plopped a mini vinyl figure’s head on it. The relative scale to the black cat and the happy expression on the vinyl fig’s face made me think that this character was clearly a perky lil kid. Continue reading The black cat has a kidsy, Catrine!

At the end of October, @natalunasans and I recently split a purchase of 6 blind boxed 1:9 scale figures by Come4Arts. Their bulky default outfits, single-jointed female bodies [versus double-jointed male bodies], and weird distribution of accessories among figures made them a real disappointment, not at all worth $350.00.

I worked hard to improve the figures. I’ve gotten them to an acceptable point of poseability, but I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with them. Right now they’re just hanging out on a shelf in the living room, chatting.
Continue reading Come4Arts 1:9 scale Pet Hospital figures

I’ve developed a little interest in doll-adjacent ephemera in the past month or two. Continue reading Doll-adjacent ephemera

For decades, I’ve had an imaginary band called Flaming Hot Pussy. Their latest iteration recently all got their instruments, so allow me to introduce the hottest band around: FHP! Continue reading Flaming Hot Pussy is kitted out!

MGA has a newish line of big-headed, single-jointed dolls with really high-quality, detailed outfits. The line is Rainbow High, and, while I’m not a fan of the big heads, I like the bodies, clothes, shoes, and some accessories. Recently I repurposed some of the stuff for my 1:6ers. Continue reading MGA Rainbow High stuff for 1:6 scale dolls!

I like Carnelian’s toothy, unhinged grin, but her original body covered all useful joints in squidgy skin, so she couldn’t hold a pose well. Inspired by my work on Twerpcat, I thought of the human headsculpt that Carnelian uses, and I decided to work on her.

Tonight I gave her an updo of a ponytail not pulled all the way through the holder. I also plopped her on a Takara Cy Girl 1.0 body which doesn’t technically match, but looks close enough. Though it’s single-jointed, shiny, and slightly tanner than her head, it’s also tight, solid, and capable of standing alone and holding poses. Because the body had a cracked ankle cup, I removed the ankle cup, sank screws into the ankles, and put MGA Bratz feetz on the heads of the screws. Continue reading Carnelian got a new body and a new hairstyle!

Carnelian, my catwitch, came with an eerily grinning anthropomorphic cat head. When I visited @natalunasans in 2018, I saw that she gave the cat headsculpt its own body. I kept my cat head, but didn’t do anything with it.

Then last week I got the idea of sticking the head on a Lakor Joker Baby body. The body came a few days ago, but without any of the extra hands for some reason. Nevertheless, the cat head looks wonderful on the body, making a small goblinoid creature whose expression is one of pure glee over how much of a little shit it is. Continue reading Twerpcat in progress

I moved her onto a Mattel Made to Move, painted exposed parts to match her head, added gold fishnets, and called her done.  I decided not to fight the frizzy hair, clipped it up in the back, and combed it forward and out in a corona, and decided that was enough of a style for her.

Continue reading Beryl the fashionable witch is done!

I recently articulated an American Girl Girls of Many Lands doll. Then I recently improved her by removing her overdone lipstick. They made her look like she was pursing her lips. Now she looks more relaxed.Continue reading How to improve a GOML part II — Qingting gets a makeunder

Beryl is a Mattel 2006 Pink Label Wicked Witch of the West [Wizard of Oz] doll who, I decided, needed bright clothes to compliment her green skin. I acquired a used [but original] Silken Flame velvet coat locally and a vintage clone Silken Flame dress from Ebay. Obitsu wrist joints, Takara BBI Cy girl gloved hands, BBI arm sleeves, MGA Hi Glamm boots. Eventually gonna put her on a green-painted Mattel Made To Move body so that she can ride her vehicle of choice: a flying Vespa! Need to do something about her crappy hair too. Continue reading Working on Beryl the fashionable witch

After changing Big Allison’s expression slightly and repainting her AGAIN, I’ve finally captured her. Now for some better hair. The stuff I made for her out of curly fabric looks too square and weighted at the bottom. So I ordered a puff wig from a store on Etsy. Continue reading Big Allison 3.0!

Once upon a time, I articulated a Pleasant Company/American Girl Girls of Many Lands 9″ doll by splicing it with Obitsu parts. Here’s my first attempt
at articulating Qingting, a tertiary character from LHF. I used some parts of an Obitsu 27cm doll and didn’t like the results.
Continue reading Qingting is back!

Big Night is done! She is a repainted Takara BBI Cy Girl Blaze head on a Hot Toys Cuban female action figure body. Her outfit takes inspiration from her Goth leanings, but also her idolatry of the Magister, so she wears a jacket very similar to his.

Continue reading Big Night is done!

I repainted these Real Littles Shoes at @natalunasans house because the originals were SO FUCKING BORING. Continue reading Real Littles Shoes repaints

Kitty, Harry’s sentient service robot, is in the house! It’s a highly sociable, friendly, anxiety-ridden, autistic, sentient scorpion robot with the personality of a golden retriever and the mannerisms of a cat. Here it is, helpfully carrying a basket of new friends! The Kitty doll is actually a Schleich scorpion that came with an armored rider.Continue reading Kitty is here! Oh yes oh yes oh yes, it is!!!!

Big Theo, a 3D printed headsculpt with a likeness to the amazing Pearl Mackie, is finally completed! I’m so proud of this one. Pearl Mackie is a very hard likeness to capture because, like Sacha Dhawan, she has big eyebrows, wide nose, large mouth, and large chin, but none of it looks out of proportion. I knew that I succeeded when I made the character smile and her smile looked bigger than her face, as Pearl Mackie’s does in the most wonderful way possible!

This doll took so damn long to paint because I was trying to use very thin layers of paint for a more even coating. Not sure if the tedium was worth it, as I never examine dolls as closely as my photos do. She also took a long time to paint because I was color matching between her body and her head. I really wish there were articulated action figure bodies easily available in a variety of skintones.

Continue reading Finished! Big Theo!!

The Stylist just got a ripply mohair wig in the colors of fire, with some added magenta for excitement! It’s a little bit bigger than her head circumference, but it works.Continue reading New hair for the Stylist!

Some time during the month, but I forgot exactly when, I did a partial overpaint of my Silence doll to make her better match Little Silence, who has thick, intense brows, and flecks of gold in her eyes. Continue reading Silence shows Saxonian spark!

The doll that I began about a year ago as the Spymaster has now come into his own as a denizen of Hardship first named the Disaster, then Amish, and now Ethan. After a month of painting and adjusting and ordering/waiting for hair and ordering/waiting for hands and all that sort of thing, he’s finally finished. Progress pics below. Continue reading His name is now Ethan, and he’s finally done!

Recently I got some Rements that are larger than the usual scale [which is around 1:7 to 1:8]. Some are also sculpted as if they are in the midst of being served. Thus my dolls can eat them more realistically. Continue reading ACTION PASTA!!!!!!! …and other exciting mini fudz

Well, all of my kidsies are equally cute, but Little Theo is the most recently finished, so she’s currently the most adorbz. Progress pics below. Continue reading Little Theo — the cutest kidsy!

I finished a significant makeover on Mattel Extra Barbie No. 1, doing a partial repaint and hair restyle, major body mods, and an almost complete outfit change. Continue reading Ebru, aka the EXTRA GAY BARBIE, gets a makeover

My mom gave me some wool from an ugly wool blanket, so I hand-stitched a sleeping bag for one of the Dorks over the last few days. It came out okay, I think. Nothing spectacular.Continue reading Sleeping accommodations updated — sleeping bag

I’ve loved Alabama ever since I got her about 7 years ago. However, she has always seemed too large to be a truly 1:6 scale kid to me. Also, while I love her headsculpt, her porcelain lower limbs and wired armature really limited her poseability. I finally transferred her head onto an action figure body to general success. Continue reading Alabama’s body swap for greater realism and poseability

In which we see just how far from the source material my Doctor Who fanfic characters have wandered…Continue reading Happy New Queers from the extended Dork fam!

An exhaustive showcase of my writing and editorial work, organized by type.
Writing/Content
Book Reviews
Blogging: Cultural Criticism
Blogging: Parenting Kids
History
Humor

Continue reading Freelancing links, writing samples

Iris came back from her sojourn with @trufflemushroom, who rerooted her using a Pride rainbow of warm-toned embroidery floss. Queerness ensued. Continue reading Iris with new and improved hair!

I recently purchased Medicom Stylish Collection Bambi and Pampi action figures. I first got these back in 2003 or so. I kept the Bambi head, shoes, and gun, getting rid of the body, as it was too fragile. I got rid of the clothes because they didn’t fit anyone else. And I got rid of Pampi because I had no interest in a kid in a devil suit. Bambi became my much-loved Baozha, crabby and explosive-happy adopted daughter of the leader of the Hun [vampires of Boston’s Chinatown] Chow Bang. Eventually I transplanted her head and shoes to a modified Spin Master Liv body. She now looks like this: Continue reading Bailey and Pammy [aka Medicom Bambi and Pampi] before modding