welcome home!

I finished my physics lab a little early today and ran off to my college's parcel center to find that my package from Little Monica had been delivered!! Look at this huge box. It's even bigger than Lenny's! Also here's a couple shots of her blank face and an informal skin comparison with Asleep Eidolon normal skintone - LM's dolls are a lot peachier and lighter (in weight) than I expected!

(why are her hands so much bigger??)

She came with a couple sweets, a teddy bear(??), picture cards, and a certificate of authenticity. Needless to say I got to work on her faceup as soon as possible. I took progess shots, too!

 

And here's how she looks semi-finished. I need to run to the store and buy myself some white glue so I can attach the eyelashes I bought. But she's almost done!! I'll be updating with a full profile and photoshoot as soon as I finish her faceup ^_^ 

❤ mura

junk update

Hey guys! Winter quarter is finally drawing to a close, and I've got some news for you guys! My doll from Little Monica is finally shipping out and she should be here soon! Unfortunately I have no idea what's going on right now. That package has been stuck in Guam for nearly 2 days already, and if tracking doesn't update by later today, I'm probably going to have to email EMS to figure out why things are the way they are.

On another note, I've been taking some time to refine my digital painting skills and this is probably the BIGGEST project I've ever attempted! Here's what I have done so far -

 
I have this terrible habit of creating characters on MMOs, getting really attached to them, converting them into OCs, and then shelling them into dolls. You might recognize the first one as Polaire (aka my incoming girl!), but that second one... just refer to this ridiculous mockup I did on a whim ^-^;;

❤ mura

mockups mockups

I'm not sure how many of you follow my personal Tumblr and have seen my massive spam about Blade & Soul. It's a Korean MMORPG that I've literally waited years for and the Chinese server is region-free and free to play! So naturally, I've been spending a lot of time on it. Maybe even a little more than I should.

Blade & Soul has really excellent character customization and I've taken this opportunity to perfect one of my favorite characters' looks. I actually created her almost 2 years ago on a different game and she's the character that I'm shelling into my incoming Little Monica doll! Here's how she looks like in-game:

 

Remember awhile back I was stuck between Angell-Studio's Lan and Little Monica's Sophia? I realized that I've unintentionally made my B&S character look a lot more like Lan (and I almost regretted my purchase for a moment there!) Today I took a little time to do some mockups to make sure that the doll I've chosen is a good fit for my character. Here's the results:

I messed up a little on the eye placement on the LM Sophia mockup. To be honest, I still like Lan's face more... But in terms of what I like more in general, I like Little Monica as a company more, plus their bodies are much more poseable than AS's. So I guess I won't be canceling my order?? Whew... =3=

 P.S. Her name is Polaire. I guess I just like girls' names that end in -ire or something. o(´^｀)o

❤ mura

[review] leeke LR-134 E in pale turquoise

I've been lucky enough to be part of what I think may be the fastest GO in the history of group orders. The order was placed on 1/28, arrived at the organizer's house on 2/1, and my part of the order made it to me today! That's literally less than a week =3= I guess our group somehow managed to order all in-stock items or something, because I've never seen anything like this before.

Moving on, here's a closeup of the wig I ordered:

It looks a lot bluer than it actually is, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it isn't a flat color! It's actually a mix of mint greens and blues. Fibers are well-combed and so far there hasn't been any shedding. There is one thing I'm a little unhappy about, but I kinda expected it to happen. For the most part, the wig is very good quality, but the wefts are a little sparse and if you look from the top of the wig, you can actually see the cap underneath. It's not too noticeable for the most part and I've heard that Leeke wigs tend to be a little on the thin side.

Here's how the wig looks like on a doll. It's not Lenny's wig, but she's the only doll I have right now, so she'll have to do! I'm really happy with how long this wig is =w= The character I'm planning to use this wig for usually has her hair in a bun, but there's so many styling opportunities with this kind of length! I can't wait until my new girl comes in so I can play around with it more.

❤ mura

january taobao finds

I placed my Taobao order after quite a bit of deliberation! Sadly, majority of the items didn't go through because they were out of stock, and with Chinese New Year coming up very soon business is going to be very, very slow. Once the holiday ends (~2/5) I'll be ready to order again! In the meantime, I have some fun finds for you, although I wouldn't exactly call them bargain deals this time =3=

rRabit had a preorder going for these ADORABLE rocking horse shoes back in December, but they're still open for ordering here! They come in 4 colors (pink, baby blue, white, and black) and both MSD and SD size. Not including shipping charges, the price is roughly $22 USD, which isn't half bad! I'd get them for a certain doll I have planned in the future but it's going to be a looooong time before I have the money to get her so... OTL

Here's another cute place I stumbled upon in my browsing journey today: a handmade dress shop by Vic&Ab! They don't have too much in their shop and their items are quite pricey but they are absolutely beautiful and perfect for people who like lots of tulle and lace. They've got stuff for both SD and MSD size boys and girls, so check them out!

This month's finds brought to you by your local mura ≧(´▽｀)≦
❤ mura