hello essie...

Starting off the new year with a new faceup for my newest girl! The other day I accidentally hit her chin with my thumbnail while repositioning her head, resulting in a huge, obvious chip that went all the way down to the resin. Naturally, I broke my commission queue to give her a new faceup (don't worry, I'm going to get back to work soon!) and I'm pretty happy with how she looks now!

I might even be a little bit grateful that I ruined her last faceup. Her new look feels more natural and balances out her facial features. The lips are colored more evenly, eyelashes less densely packed, and the eyebrows have a more delicate arch while still keeping the same expression. I also changed her eyeshadow a little bit to accentuate her crease and added some white and gold liner to brighten up her eyes. I'd say it's actually a vast improvement! Now I just hope this faceup will last longer than the last one...

❤ Kai

liebster awards

Is it that time of the year already? I've been tagged by both my dear friends Orion Cain & Musume, so I've double the questions to answer this time! Thank you so much for nominating my blog, even though I don't update very often. As always, I tag anyone reading my blog who wants to do it because I'm awful at choosing people to single out (with the addition of a few people on my blogroll who may or may not have been tagged yet). I hope my questions are fun and interesting for anyone who wants to try.

The Rules

1. Thank the person who presented you the award and link back to their blog.

2. Post the award image on your blog.
3. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter.
4. Nominate 5-11 blogs with less than 200 followers.
5. Create 11 questions for the nominees to answer.
6. List these rules in your post.
7. Inform the people you chose of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog and link them your post.

an ending to 2015

It's time for my monthly update! It's still New Years' Eve for me here on the west coast of the USA so this'll be my last post for 2015. It's been a wonderful year in this hobby for me, watching my faceup business skyrocket in popularity over one winter, seeing my doll family grow from 3 to 5, and meeting so many new friends. I've also picked up a couple new skills along the way - I've finished filming for two videos' worth of content and I'm about to get started on editing them so I'll have things on my brand new YouTube channel for the new year.

My newest girl Estelle is finally coming together with her new clothes and new eyes, and the others are always a joy to see again when I come home. I've got a couple other posts that I haven't finished typing up yet (like New Year's resolutions, updated doll plans, and Essie's bio) so I'll have plenty of nice new content to start 2016 off with. I've also got a couple of close-up shots of my crew! If anyone's still reading this blog feel free to tell me which of my dolls is your favorite. I might feature them in my next video!

Haerang & Lenoire, the lovebirds

Polaire & Estelle, best pals

Yagi, lonely moth goddess

Cheers, guys! Hope you have a great new year :)

❤ Kai

san diego bjd con recap

Long time no see, everyone... I'm late with another entry, yet again! I was originally going to do something for Pro BJD Artists Day this year but I've been scrambling back and forth for the past couple of weeks with either schoolwork or convention preparation. I finally got free time this weekend to work on some commissions, rest up, and eat!

Anyway I thought I'd do a quick little recap of my experience this year at the San Diego BJD Convention. Last year I was there as an attendee, and I stayed for only a little bit after checking out the dealer's room because I was right in the middle of midterms at the time. This year I managed to attend as a vendor and share a table with my friend Cris from Blue Bird Doll Shoppe, and I just so happened to be sandwiched between her display and my other friends' from La Esperanza Doll Shop.

As someone whose involvement in the hobby is primarily based on faceup commissions, I didn't have too much to show at the convention (unlike my friends who had huge displays for their clothing shops). I just brought a few of my freshly made art prints, some old doll clothes I wanted to get rid of, a physical portfolio of my faceup work, and a bunch of forms for people to fill out. Business was a kind of slow but I still managed to sell out of the slots I prepared for the convention. :)

My display was super tiny, just a box of old clothes, my handmade pennant flag banner, space for my display dolls, and a tray with sample prints and business cards. It was simple, but I think I still managed to make it look pretty good for a first time vendor display! Overall it was a fun and positive experience for me - I didn't get to attend any of the panels, but I enjoyed the door prize raffles and lunch/dinner events. I'm a rather shy/reserved person so I tend not to interact too much with my clients, so it was really interesting to actually see my clients in person and have a little chat with them. Hopefully I gave off a good impression!

I'm going to be trying to finish up all the SDBJDC commissions I took before I leave for home for winter break while juggling final projects and term papers. Can't wait to see my little doll family of 5 once I get home!

❤ Kai

new arrival!

I'm officially at doll #5 here! I'd planned to slow down my doll plans for this year but this was an opportunity too good to pass up. My best doll friend helped me find a Celine on the DoA marketplace for only $575 including default faceup, sleeping head, heel feet, and black resin heels. Shipping was an unbelievable $15! There was absolutely no way I could've found this deal by buying direct from the company or even a dealer. Here's what she looked like before I gave her a makeover:

I never intended to keep the Fairyland default faceup, but after seeing it in person I knew for sure it had to go. The airbrushed pink blush clashed so strongly with her orangey-red lips! Her new look is far fiercer with ombre lips and strong eyebrows. I also decided to double-layer her lashes for a fuller look.

And here she is from today! I gave her a couple small finger tattoos: a heart and ribbon on the right hand, and the word "love" and a honeycomb on the left in addition to rings and a triangle on both. Someday when I finally have matte varnish and the tools to restring her I'll be giving her a large bee and some floral tats on her body, too.

I also did a quick comparison shot with Polaire, the other girl I brought with me for this quarter. Essie is a lot shorter even with her heels on! I think she's even shorter than DJ with flat feet...

I'm so excited to finally be able to share Estelle with all of you! Now to wait for her clothes and real wigs to come in... :)

❤ Kai