First post of the year!! Though I’m writing this on December 31st hahaha, but I’m sure by now most of my friends are in 2017 already.
Hope you had an amazing celebration and started the year with the right foot. And even if you didn’t, I’m sure this year will bring amazing things!!! Just because something didn’t start as planned, it doesn’t mean it won’t be amazing in the end.
As always I wanted to do a bit of a ramble about my plans for 2017. But first I would like to talk about a bit of the past year.
2016 was a very nice year for me in the hobby and also the most rewarding. I changed a lot in my collection, selling off 1/3 dolls, bringing new sizes (MSD and smaller than 1/6). I took photos every month, though some months were harder than others. This year I’ve been the bravest in the hobby, brought a new type of doll to my collection (momokodoll) and I gave crafting a try too.
2016 arrivals
It’s also the first year that coming winter I didn’t feel like maybe I should quit the hobby. I’m sure I’ve talked about this more than once, but I really lose all my motivation in winter and end up doing nothing, which ends up with me thinking I should just sell everything because it feels like such a waste of money. I still felt less energized during the cold months, that’s just how I work, but I still took photos (sometimes a bit forced but still) and I was inspired and making plans all year round.
At this point today I love the hobby, but I don’t feel like I should be buying many dolls now, I have many already! 2016 was definitely a year of arrivals, and I’m very happy with each one of them. I know I will want a few dolls in the future, but I don’t feel like spending that much now, just enough to accomplish some goals. I won’t be greedy this year and I thought of very realistic goals, hoping I will succeed just like I did in the year that just passed. So here they are, in no particular order:
- Keep posting photos often: I will keep the one photo a month challenge, but I’m hoping to take more photos than I did in 2016. Two photos each month would be ideal.
- Practice face ups: face ups are tiring and stressful for me, I just don’t enjoy them as much as I thought I would. It doesn’t help that the practice head I have is a sculpt I don’t like (and 1/3 scale on top of that). I hope I can find a cute yoSD head for practice. Pretty enough to want to paint it over and over again until I get better (and maybe get a body for it when I feel confident enough, who knows!).
- Get a diorama for my momoko doll: I hope to get more momokos because it would be more fun, but for now all I want is to being able to do a diorama for nice photos. I found scrapbook supplies stores in Chile, but they all have the same paper designs, and most of them weren’t suitable for my needs (designs were just too big), so I might go looking for fabric or other things. Haven’t found any cool stores that ship to Chile, but buying paper online could be an option depending on shipping prices.
- Send more packages to friends in the hobby: this past year I started sending a few packages to friends and it has been so much fun. There were some people I wanted to send things but couldn’t in the end. I hope I can send at least one package for each person in my
secretlist.
And that’s pretty much it!! I don’t have any grand plans this year nor any sculpts in mind for buying. Hope I can get a head to paint at least and re paint May as well, I still have to find where to buy the airbrush cleaner!
I wish you the best for 2017, hope it’s an amazing year for you and your loved ones!
Thank you for taking some of your time into reading me or sharing stuff with me, it has been a pleasure getting to know you all more~!
I think everyone, at some point, and sometimes quite often too, have those feelings that you have during the onset of winter. I know I’ve had moments where I think, I should just quit and sell everything off because it seems like such a huge waste of money but then I think about how happy it makes me feel whenever I photograph my dolls or make something for them or even just blogging about them. They are what keeps me sane I think. They are my ‘chill out’ time, time from the stress of life and the ‘real world’ with all its ups and downs. And particularly most recently, they’ve got me back into writing stories again, something I haven’t done for a few years. They keep my muse active and they keep me feeling young at heart (something I appreciate given how fast each year is passing me by lately!)
I really loved all your arrivals in 2016. They were all so diverse and unique and can I just say, you really tempt me into wanting to get a grey skin doll. I love how you photograph yours!
I hope you are able to meet all your plans for this year. I will send you some paper in the next week or two to help you get started with your dioramas.
I think, if you don’t love the face sculpt, it can be hard to paint it. I’m finding this same situation with the vinyl heads I am painting. Some are good for practice and all but lately, I’m feeling more and more like I need to paint faces that I intend to keep in my collection and photograph. I feel I would try harder to make it perfect.
I hope you will be able to find a yo-sd sculpt for practice. Have you thought about one of the Miya Doll heads? I think those dolls are pretty cute.
Wishing you the best for 2017. Hope this year is going to be filled with good luck, much happiness and laughter and an abundance of love and creativity!
I think we all end up concluding that the happiness the hobby brings us is worth enough to not quit. Once the happiness dies it will be the end for sure, and it could happen, but it also may not. I’m not too worried though, having hobbies is such an important part of being happy, wish more people would realize that!
I love grey skin, I definitely want more grey dolls in the future, I think it’s such a great color to work with! Mine is blue grey but it almost always photographs grey haha, I’ve made it my goal to make it look more blue lately, which I somehow managed to do in my “winter lights” photo, so I know it can be done again~
You don’t really have to send me anything, but I would appreciate the paper haha! Hope it’s not too hard to mail? I can’t believe Chile doesn’t sell nice papers, I’ve looked everywhere already! I even went to a store that was super far from my home and all I got was 2 designs that I’m not too convinced can work, but I didn’t want to leave empty handed after spending so much time getting there.
I agree, it sucks practicing on heads you don’t love. I’ve been totally thinking of Miyadoll for a head!! You know me so well hahaha. This month I probably won’t spend much, so maybe in the near future I can get a head. I already ordered the airbrush cleaner so hopefully I’ll get it before january ends. fingers crossed.
Thank you for all the good wishes, I wish you the same and more, because you deserve everything good!
Happy New Year to you 😀 I hope it will be a happy year for you!
You have some good plans for 2017 and I hope you can do them all. I really hope you get to make the diorama for your Monoko, and post many new photos of your dolls 😀
Thank you very much!!! I’m excited to see what i will be doing this year, hope I don’t disappoint myself too much hahah!
I think everybody has some dark thoughts sometimes. But eventually it’s good to have such a nice hobby. I hope you’ll be able to achieve your goals and even more. Have a great 2017!
That’s totally true! Hobbies makes us happier in a world that only cares about working and climbing the ladder of success. Thank you!!
I can relate, though for me it’s summer. But I made it through one of my toughest summers, and you were a big help in that! I try to remind myself that every hobby costs. So, what’s really important is that I am happy. At the end of the day, that’s why we work so hard! xo
I love your new collection, and I think you will have a lot of fun with your new doll family next year!
Thank you!!! I’m glad to know I helped you, hope you keep being in this hobby for many many years!
I do hope you never quit though! ^-^ Reading your posts and seeing your photos is fun, although I should comment on them more. Your arrivals were amazing, I really loved what you did with your Ashes and those PW dolls are gorgeous! Sometimes it is best to just leave a certain size behind if it is not working for you and concentrate on the things that make you happy. and when you are happy about your dolls, then you’ll be more motivated to take pics of them and you’ll surely reach your goal of two per month. I’m certainly looking forward to it! 😉
Happy New Year!!
You don’t have to comment more at all, I know how busy you are!! I hope to never quit too, but you never know what the future has in store haha, but in this point I think I’m very involved with the hobby to even think about quitting.
It was hard to finally decide to part with an entire size, but I’m very happy with my decision, it has made me grow a lot.
Thank you!!
I can relate. I have, during 2016, had some thoughts that maybe it is for the best to just let things be and sell things of. Thankfully my family have told me that they will not ‘allow’ me to just quit. They say that things that make me happy (and dolls really do) is something one should keep on doing. Some days just doing something totally different may help. At the cottage it is much easier to just go out, take photos and have fun. Winter feels long and boring. Better do something about that in 2017. 😀
Oh, a diorama! There are so many beautiful projects and tips and tutorials out there. I often look and dream away. Look forward to seeing your steps, and get inspired. I still have my tiny furniture from IKEA in the box. Gosh.
I wish you the best for 2017! It has been a pleasure to get to know you!
Your family is so great!! and they are totally right, don’t give up things that makes you happy!!
I’ve been watching many tutorials these days for my diorama, hope to start making some stuff soon :D!
Thank you!! It has been a pleasure for me too~
Happy new year 😀
I’m so glad to see you in such a good mood! You truly received some cuties this year!
I hope you’ll keep on blogging with the rest of us :3
Thank you!! I’ll try to blog as much as possible :D! maybe next year you will be asking me to stop LOL
I wish to to realise all your plans. Happy New Year! 🙂
Thank you! you too!
Hi Alejandra,
Here I is, late as usual, but you have been in my thoughts just the same.
Like you, I dislike winter . . . it’s the pits! I tend to hibernate in winter just like a big fat lazy bear, but I shall not give up my dolls, maybe the odd one I get bored with, but not all of them . . . NO NEVER!! And don’t you dare quit blogging, it just wouldn’t be the same around here without you!!
I have so enjoyed reading all you have done this year and I am so pleased you achieved so much. I do hope the year ahead brings you much happiness.
Big hugs,
X
Aw thanks!! it’s okay if you are late or can’t comment :D!! I know you think of me and I think of you too!
No worries, I won’t quit blogging, I hope this winter I’ll be as good as last one~ if not you know I’ll reappear as soon as the sun starts coming out on my side of the planet again. For now we are in summer so I expect to do many things, doll and non doll related.
Thank you so much for your kind words, today and always, you and your blog are amazing! Hoe you accomplish many things as well~
It’s so great to read how much you’ve accomplished last year! Also, it’s very cool to see you’ve been dragged into the diorama thing too 😀 ahaha, I love seeing more of them! I’m sure yours will also inspire others a lot since you’re so great at crafting x3
Happy NY to you ~
Yay for dioramas! The world needs more of that! And thank you!! Not sure how much of my diorama will be actually crafted yet, I definitely don’t think I could make the furniture XD but windows and walls and stuff sure 😀
You plan to make one for your pullips right? scale should be the same, that will be fun to see 😀
Thank you!
Happy new year!! I honestly love your doll collection and it was great seeing you online and posting more!
I personally love your faceups, and hope you can get the cleaner soon! Changing the practice head to a sculpt suitable to your tastes may be a great idea!
I hope this year you achieve all of your goals!! Best of luck!!
Thank you!! I’m hoping a new practice head will be motivating, I need to be more confident with what I’m doing so it is not as stressful to paint dolls.