bjd dolls

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.

Ruby and a Dollhouse Tour

March 5, 2025 at 8:47 am by Claudia

Since I’m filled with anxiety and fear lately (gee, I wonder why?) I’m going to post something cute. Adorable, in fact.

I’m not ordering any new dolls for the time being – maybe forever – but I ordered a doll head, faceup, and wig about 7 months ago from a BJD designer in China. This particular doll is very popular on my Blythe feed and I was enchanted by her ‘look.’ She was very reasonably priced, and as with most BJDs, the designer posts a preorder and then makes enough dolls to fulfill that order. It takes a lot of time because they are not mass produced. In this case, the heads had to be made, then shipped to the designer, then individual faceups had to be done, etc. I didn’t order the body because I had an OB 22 body on hand. That’s the same body that several of my Blythes have, as well as Jessie, the Little Keiko doll that I did the faceup for.

I knew she was going to ship about a week ago, but never received any tracking information. That made me very uneasy because the doll was coming all the way from Beijing. That’s never happened before. I was also concerned about customs fees, which I’ve never had to pay, but are now in place due to actions of the felon in the WH. But late in the day on Monday, there was a knock on the front door and the mail carrier was standing there with a box from China. It took less than a week, which is astounding. And no customs fee, though I’m not exactly sure why.

Here she is:

I hadn’t even thought of a name ahead of time, but the minute I looked at her, I knew she was Ruby. She has the smallest head of any of my dolls, even smaller than Lily or Wren. But it’s beautifully in proportion to the OB 22 body. (I’ll take a picture soon of a Blythe and a Little Keiko and this girl, so you can get an idea of the difference in body/head size.)

Her hair looks a little auburn here because of the sun streaming in our windows. That was yesterday. Today, it’s raining.

The wig was made by another creator in China, who is a pal of Ruby’s designer. It’s really beautiful. She even included a mini comb and brush!

Don is enchanted by her. I am, too. I must admit, her arrival lifted my spirits on Monday and Tuesday. Now, of course, I want another so she can have a friend. But the process takes so long, so that may not happen.

I have another video for you. It’s a tour of Hummingbird Cottage, my first attempt at restoring a dollhouse.

Since my site was infected today, and the only thing I’m doing differently is adding YouTube links, I’m going to discontinue that. Just go to YouTube and search under: claudiathechroniccollector.

Dollhouse Tour: Hummingbird Cottage

I hope you enjoy the little tour.

NOTE: For some reason, I’m getting an error message when I try to leave a comment. I’ll check with my host. Update: the site was hacked – my first time since Blogger days, It’s fixed now.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

November 25, 2024 at 8:11 am by Claudia

Well, a month from today is Christmas. I have a feeling all of us are craving the magic of the lights and decorations, especially this year. Since we buy a tree, we’re going to hold off getting one until later next week, simply because we want it to last through the beginning of 2025. I have to admit that I’m craving some sparkly lights. I have a small artificial tree – a couple of them – and I may pull that out of the shed and put some lights on it. Maybe it could go on the little green table that sits to me right here in the den. And, of course, the porch lights need to be hooked up. I’ll probably have them up by Thanksgiving.

I wish I had one of those antique feather trees. They’re so beautiful.

It was a low-key weekend. Reading, a walk at the library, watching old movies. We checked the rivers on Saturday and they’re much higher than they were before our two days of rain earlier this week. Thank goodness! The Canada geese looked quite happy as they paddled around on the river.

I think I’ll prod Don into taking another walk this morning.

In addition to creating little Jessie’s face up last week, I also received another doll in the mail that I won in a giveaway. It’s a “Boto Doll” a BJD designed by a young woman who is Asian – I think, Chinese – and lives in Germany. She just moved there from France, where she has been pursuing a graduate degree. Anyway, I was surprised and pleased when I won the doll. She’s about 10 inches tall – taller than I expected – and very solid and heavy compared to my other BJDs and Blythe dolls. That was surprising. Because her body is a different size, I had to order her wig, shirt, pants, socks, and shoes from the designer. Very inexpensive, but, as you can see, nothing is every truly free!

She’s named Ling.

I think she’s adorable. Right now, she’s living on the shelf under the dollhouse, standing in front of the little dolly clothes cabinet. Because she’s heavier, she can stand on her own. I did ask Don if he minded another doll staring at him while he’s watching television. Nope, he’s completely cool with it, bless him.

Jessie was a giveaway doll, too. Lucky me!

A reminder: BJD dolls are Ball Jointed Dolls, made of resin. (Blythe is plastic.) Because they are created by independent doll creators, they’re eventually made from a mold and it’s a complicated and expensive process. Usually, but not always, the designer comes up with a new doll design and lists it on IG or their website. They can make only a limited number. After all the orders have been received, production will start and it can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to receive the finished product. My BJDs were much less expensive than a customized Blythe. I like them because they’re generally smaller and I can easily add them to the edges of the shelves in the cubby. Plus, they have so much personality!

My BJDs are the two Eat Zongzi dolls I have – Wren and Lily, Jessie, and now, little Ling.

I have one more coming in a month or so – just the head, which will have a finished face up, along with a wig. I’ll add the same body I use for the Blythes – an OB 22 body.

That will be about it – only so much space! But I do find myself wanting to customize one more Little Keiko so that Jessie can have a sister.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe…

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Rain, Dollhouse Stuff, and a Pending Faceup

Ruby and a Dollhouse Tour

There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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