bjd dolls

Rosie

November 7, 2025 at 9:01 am by Claudia

A little (key word, “little”) story for you.

I started collecting customized Blythes in mid 2021. Through my IG account, I started following all sorts of collectors and creators. In early 2022, I started seeing these adorable little BJDs (ball jointed dolls) on various accounts. “Dudu and Wuwu.” It turns out they had been created by a woman in China – her account/business was named Eat Zongzi. As with almost all BJD releases, there was a preorder and a limited amount of dolls were sold. All of that happened before I became aware of them. There was no way to order one, but I sure wanted one.

Through a couple of conversations on IG, I learned of a woman who lived in England and was Chinese by birth and was a Blythe collector. She could sometimes source items that were hard to find. I could only afford one girl, so I chose Wuwu. She found one for me in China and that’s when Wren arrived on the scene. A year or so later, Eat Zongzi created a Mengmeng doll. This time I placed a preorder. That girl is Lily.

In my mind, Lily is the older sister of Wren. Now, let’s not forget that I sold Wren – very reluctantly – when we needed some money. I sold her to an IG friend who, at the time, said if I ever wanted her back I could have her. A year or so went by and I discovered I did want her back. Lily looked lonely. And I missed little Wren’s mini-me worried face. I sold some things on Etsy and saved up the money for her and I finally was able to welcome her back to the cottage.

Okay. You know my thing about little doll families. If I buy one Little Keiko or Landoudou doll, eventually I have to buy another because a girl needs a sister. Several months ago, I started thinking about the Dudu half of the original offering. I searched on IG for Dudus so I could remember what she looked like. Darned adorable! I casually posted an IG Story saying I was looking for a Dudu and if anyone was selling one, I’d love to buy her. No response.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to post the original inquiry again. I was quickly contacted by a fellow Blythe collector – who I know – in the Netherlands. She was selling her Dudu, a girl who had been customized by Rose and Cacao, a Portuguese Blythe artist I am familiar with as I’ve purchased some of her Blythe clothing. We chatted back and forth – there are always questions about tariffs and customs these days, but there are ways around that problem. I was hesitant and asked her if I could take the weekend to think about it. She was fine with that. I was a little concerned about the expense. A few hours later, I got a call from Darko offering me an unexpected job. There was my answer.

Sorry this is so long, but you know I love a story.

She arrived here on Tuesday.

Meet Rosie!

Rose and Cacao did the face up and changed out the body. I’m not sure what kind of body it is, but I really like it. The freckles, the hair, the eyebrows!

Here they are together.

And here they are with their older sister, Lily.

The timing of it all was perfect.

My little Eat Zongzi family is complete.

(And I’m running out of room on my shelves.)

Another photo from yesterday:

I like happy endings.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Changing

June 20, 2025 at 8:46 am by Claudia

It was unbelievably hot and humid yesterday with some thunderstorms. We basically stayed inside.

I couldn’t concentrate on my book and the weather is wreaking havoc on my allergies, so I decided to take a photo of some of the girls.

Jessie, Wren, and Audrey. Before I took it, I changed Wren’s outfit.

And then I found myself redressing a few more girls. I’ve been wanting to do this for a few months, but everything I wrote about in Wednesday’s post has kept me from it. I just couldn’t get motivated.

I pulled out the suitcases full of clothes and made a start. If I’m in the right frame of mind, this simple task can be incredibly soothing. I grab a few girls, look for something that suits them, and start the transformation. It’s almost meditative.

So Wren got her change and then Harper, Miranda, and Lily.

Here they are on the ottoman that is in front of my chair. Once I’m finished, I hang out with them for a while.

I’m going to try to redress a couple of girls every day. I mean, a couple of them still have sweaters on! Since the temps here are going up to 99 next week, I think they’ll appreciate something to wear that’s cooler.

Hey, it’s my little doll world and sometimes it is the perfect escape.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Rain, Dollhouse Stuff, and a Pending Faceup

May 23, 2025 at 9:38 am by Claudia

Rain, rain go away. Honestly, it’s so dark and rainy around here that we’re getting depressed! It’s also very cold for this time of year and we’ve had to turn the heat on. Next week will be better. The rain should stop after today and it will warm up starting on Monday. I feel water-logged even though I’m not out in the rain, if you know what I mean.

It’s hard to take any pictures when the house is dark as well. I did my best.

I spent a couple of hours going through the box that holds the unfinished version of the Beacon Hill. I was looking for replacement parts – window trims that are missing, the base for the kitchen window extension and the bay windows, and a few other things. Greenleaf dollhouses have a lot of detail, but they’re made with cheap plywood. The parts are on big sheets of plywood and there’s a schematic diagram that shows where things are. When you find the part, you have to punch it oh-so-carefully out of the plywood sheet or you’ll break it. Supposedly, all the plywood sheets are labeled by number, but my experience tells me that not every sheet is numbered. So I had to spend a lot of time looking at the schematics and then searching for the corresponding plywood sheet.

This is something I’ve had on my mental list of things to do for years. I think I have everything, but we’ll see. I can tell you this, putting this monster together would be a giant pain-in-the-tush and I’m so glad I changed my mind and purchased one that was already assembled.

Inside the modern dollhouse. That chair was made by Arlette of Arlette’s Minitures in England. I have several of her pieces. Alas, she retired last year. This particular Art Deco-ish chair was a gift from a reader of the blog. She purchased it and then realized she wasn’t going to use it and graciously passed it on to me.

The sofa is identical to the gray sofa in Don’s mini music studio. Made by an Australian miniaturist.

I got the coffee table at a miniature show. And the vase, as well.

Don has a gig this evening at one of his favorite venues.

And this will be Jessie’s sister. Eventually. I don’t have a body yet and it’s far too rainy to work on the faceup as I have to spray it several times during that work and let it dry outside. But soon.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Rosie

Changing

Rain, Dollhouse Stuff, and a Pending Faceup

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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