De-Tinseling and Repainting

Hiya readers! Come with me through the journey that was Priss' customisation. The repainting was a first for me, so I'm no pro, but I hope you'll enjoy this anyway - and feel free to give me some pointers via comments.

Peacock Princess Priss is a Basic Cleo DeNile, the kind that came in a 2-pack with Deuce. I'm not a fan of Cleo, really, but my boyfriend really wanted Deuce, so I decided she would be the victim of my first attempt at repainting. This one's gonna be pic heavy, folks!

First off I had to de-tinsel her hair. A relatively easy job. Just pick out each strand of tinsel so it is stretched tight and cut the tinsel as close to the head as possible, one by one, for best result. Doesn't matter if you accidentally snip a stray hair here or there, just take it slow and be careful! I must say once the tinsel is gone her hair feels beautifully silky.

Next up, removing stock make-up. I decided to leave her lips as I like that two-tone deep red. So, carefully, I rubbed her eyes off with non-acetone nail polish remover using cotton buds. It can take a while (and a lot of cotton buds) but don't go nuts with the nail polish remover or rubbing like crazy because you will end up smearing the paint around. Just do it bit by bit and switch to a clean cotton bud frequently.

Now I am not the greatest with a paintbrush, I don't have a steady hand, but I tried anyway! Here is the method, I can't help you with the skill. Heheh. 

Pastels. You can use pastels but they are harder to remove than paint. I used pastels for blush and eye shadow in this case. Take the colour pastel you want and scribble a bit on a piece of paper. This creates a powder on the paper. (You can mix colours this way too) Use a cotton bud to apply this powder, rubbing it onto the dolls face. If you have excess powder on the dolls face blow it off with your mouth - don't try to wipe it off because it will rub in! Even out the pastel on your dolls face using clean cotton buds. I suggest adding just a little colour at a time and layering it, building it up slowly.

Paint. I used nail art brushes but they were even a little too big for the finer details. You will need extremely small brushes. Use acrylic paints and thinner. Do it bit by bit, allowing the paint to dry between features. For example, I painted the whites of the eyes first, let it dry, then the colours, let it dry, then the pupil, let it dry, then the lashes, etc. Well, I suppose that's all the advice I can give! If I find any more helpful tricks I'll be sure to add them.

I gave her a few coats of sealant. I use Mr. Super Clear Flat, be sure to protect her hair and body from the spray (I kinda mummified her, funnily enough, in paper, with her face poking through a hole). Lastly, I put some gloss on her lips. For gloss, use a fine brush again, but try to apply it with as few strokes as possible - if you keep fiddling with it it won't be as shiney, it can go kind of cloudy.

So here she is, Priss the Peacock Princess. I'm not happy with her, but I don't hate it and I think it's the best I can do. *sigh* 

 In the peacock photos she wears her own crown and boots, Pullip Zuora stockings, Clawdeen's School's Out choker and a Blythe dress by girlnamedsam which is pinned at the back - a lot! Hehe.

In the other photos she wears Ghoulia's Skull Shores swimsuit, Ghoulia's basic headband, a Bratz skirt, Clawdeen's Dawn of the Dance stockings and Moxie Teenz shoes. The Moxie Teenz shoes fit well, if not a little big. I was very impressed that she could stand by herself in them, pictured below.

Well I hope these hints have been handy for someone! I definitely won't be repainting again in a hurry. I just don't have the skill for the fine details. If anyone reading this has any tips, please comment!

 - Kat

Spectral Siblings

Long time no post!

Todays little catch-up is all about Specra. I bet you guessed that already, clever. =P Welcome home to my second Spectra, Georgie. I will be rerooting her with Glow-In-The-Dark hair, when I can get my hands on it. She is named Georgie Griffin after H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. What a great book! After being so hard to find, Spectra has now flooded Aussie shops. I can only hope Operetta will perform the same trick in time.

I notice a lot of small difference in her make-up, but nothing shocking. Slight colour differences, position of eyes, etc. The main difference for me is that my first Spectra (left) has a kind of lovely pearl to her lips whereas the second (right) just has a basic flat colour. It kind of shows in photos, but it is obvious in person.

They both have the most beautifully soft hair of all my MH ghouls.

I think Spectra looks lovely in Lagoona's Dawn of The Dance dress and shoes (with DOTD Frankie's belt, and her own jewellery). The blue really matches her eyeshadow. Of course, as usual, my favourite thing is the shoes. Translucent shoes were just made for her translucent feet. Move over Lagoona, Spectra rocks these heels!

I am also looking forward to Spectra in the Dot Dead Gorgeous line (and the other ghouls too!). My own wardrobe consists of a lot of black, purple and polka dots. This will be a line after my own heart, I'm sure.

As always, visit my flickr page for more photos of all kinds of dollies and more. Thanks for reading!

- Kat

Family Photo

Population Explosion

For a tagged version with their names and versions labelled, please click on the link above to visit my flickr account.

The population has reached 17 now, plus 3 boys (Deuce Basic, Gil and Jackson) belonging to my boyfriend. You might notice I have a headless Ghoulia there, she is currently undergoing a reroot.

Meet one of the new arrivals, Abbey Bominamble! I had wanted to get a Basic Abbey, but settled for Skull Shores, and am glad that I did! She is lovely, I have no complaints at all. Flawless out of the box. Her hair needed parting, but it was quite easy and very well rooted.

Here she wears Ghoulia's Dawn of the Dance dress, a lovely item which just seems to suit all the ghouls. Add Skull Shores Ghoulia's shoes and Abbey is ready to hit the dancefloor! What a beautiful yeti.

The entire skull shores line have the prettiest shoes which tie in strongly with the themes of the girls. I still hope to get Draculaura and Frankie to complete the set.

I think 2012 is going to be an exciting year for monster releases. Looking forward to new ghouls and getting handy with the sewing machine.

'Till next time,

 - Kat

Highlight Princess

Happy New Year!

Today my Clawdeen got her first real photoshoot. I gave her hair some soft pink highlights and thought she might pull off a more sweet look. She wasn't impressed! Using a darling Blythe dress with some fierce MH accessories I think we came up with a unique (and adorable!) look. I was going to repaint her lips a soft pink too, but, as my poor Cleo found out the hard way, I'm not too great with painting tiny details.

For adding highlights I used the same method as  in my Reroot Tutorial but rather than cutting all the hair off, just add the highlights to the existing plugs, wherever you like! A quick way to make your doll one of a kind. Be sure to remove the head carefully (see the tutorial) as I broke her neck peg by being too hasty. Poor girl. Must figure out how to fix it so her head stops falling off. Hah


Her outfit:
Grandma Wolf Dress - Pollipop for Blythe
Bloomers - Draculaura Club Fashion
Stocking - Draculaura & Clawd 2pack
Shoes - Skeleton Create A Monster
Earrings - Lagoona Dawn of the Dance
Ring - Clawdeen School's Out
Bracelet - Lagoona Wave 1
Belt & Bracelet - Cleo & Deuce 2pack
Black & White Bracelet ??? Anyone know?

The skeleton shoes! Nope, still no sightings in stores. I got these on eBay, thankfully I found them quite fairly priced. I adore the mould, but they are made of such a soft plastic that it is hard to stop the heels bending even on the stand. This is unfortunate and stops them from making it into my list of fave MH shoes. They do look great, but are just too soft to be practical.

That's all for today. Keenly awaiting another eBay package, be prepared for the Skull Shores ghouls to be thrown into the mix! (Yay! My first Abbey!) I ordered them online too, again, no luck in my local stores.

Hope someone out there noticed my little Zelda reference in the title! Also, I fear I use too many exclamation points...

 - Kat

Hydration Station

Hello there!

One of my Christmas wishes was fulfilled - hooray! Dad gave me Dead Tired Lagoona with her Hydration Station. She is a lovely doll, I really like the soft colours in the make-up of the Dead Tired series. She is a flawless one too, not defects in her paint that I can see. She is my third Lagoona, I have named her Bubble. I always wanted to name one of my dolls Bubble after the adorable character from Absolutely Fabulous.

The station itself is also a wonderful item. I had hoped it would make a good night light, but alas! Oh, the noise! When it is running it makes a very loud humming/buzzing noise. Once filled with water the front panel has four bubble jets at the base which vary their direction and speed. Blue and green lights shine from the base creating a very pleasing aquatic effect.

There are three settings to the bubble/light display.

1. Fast pulsing on and off

2. Slow pulsing on and off

3. Continuous on

It only stays on for about a minute after you push the button on the base. I haven't had it long, but have given it quite a workout, so I think the battery life must be OK. It takes three AA batteries which are not included in the set.

As for accessories, I was most impressed with the stand. It is a clear aqua colour, but instead of the regular straight stem, this one is moulded bubbles. I haven't a picture of it yet but I will be sure to take one for my next Lagoona-oriented post (Won't be long, I'm sure XD. She is still my favourite.). Another cute feature, her pet pirrhana, Neptuna, comes with her very own little Dead Tired sleep mask - so sweet!

I took a quick video of the station in action, on the second setting. Check it out below!

'Till next time,

 - Kat

Chritmas Wishes

Merry Christmas ghouls and boys!

It's only 4 sleeps 'till Christmas, so what are you wishing for? My MH doll wishlist:
 - Operetta
 - Draculaura Sweet 1600
 - Lagoona Dead Tired
 - Howleen
 - Cupid
 - Insect Create A Monster Pack
 - Vampire & Sea Monster CAM Pack
 - Toralei

Now, I know Cupid is a long way away, but the rest seem reasonable. However, the only one of these dolls available in my local stores is Lagoona Dead Tired.

A week or so ago I received a Target catalogue with my junk mail advertising Nefera and Howleen. Exciting! Well... exciting if true.


Neither of my local Targets have stocked them and I have seen no signs of other collectors having found them either. I think it seems ridiculous to advertise these girls in a Christmas catalogues if they are not going to be released before Christmas.

Create A Monster packs are newly released. A lot of people in America have managed to buy them but I am not sure if they have yet hit our Aussie shores. I am very interested in these packs and hope to see them in stores soon as I have no intention of paying the horribly inflated prices on eBay. (Same goes for the Sweet 1600 line)

Toaralei has been found in Aussie stores - just not by me! Same story with Abbey. I can't understand why I can find Spectra everywhere (seriously, heaps), but no Abbey and no Toralei. Toralei is not on the top of my list so I'm not too bothered, I just don't understand it.

Last to discuss, but most wanted, Operetta. Her promo pics have been out far longer than any of the other dolls mentioned here. In fact, as long as Spectra and Abbey, I think. Where is she?! I am really hanging out for this girl.

A lovely Noel to you all. I hope we see more dolls on the shelves soon, and plenty under our Christmas trees too!
 - Kat

Dolly Bio

Hello out there!

Life is busy busy this time of year. I have a few Monster High projects on the go, repaints, hair cuts, streaks, and custom shoes, but nothing ready to post about yet. My birthday is in 6 days, so, in honour of me, todays post is something of an introduction.

I never liked dolls when I was a kid, loved My Little Pony (and still do, my wardrobe is full of them). I got my first doll about 5 years ago, a Pullip Stica. Current count, I'd say I have 20 Pullip, Dal, Taeyang and Byul dolls. My newest doll is a Byul Leroy that my Dad got me for my birthday. ^_^ I am quite happy with this collection and don't have many on my wishlist.

The first photo is Pullip Anne-Shirley, on an obitsu sbh body, wearing Barbie. The second pic is Dal Monomono with Taeyang Lead wig and Pullip Rovam eyechips. She is wearing a Khurn doll dress and Pullip Sacagawea neclace. This photo is one of the shots I've had featured in Adore magazine.

I got my first Blythe over 4 years ago, a Cloud 9 Bowl. It was love! Hahah. I have 10 blythes now, and still more on the wishlist. I have obtained my grails however, Princess A La Mode and a redhead Kenner. The Blythe pictured is Tweedly Do, I always regretted selling her. She wears handmade items from Etsy. Recently got a few Petite Blythes too - they are much cuter than I had anticipated.

Next to squirrel their way into my heart (and my wallet!) are the ball jointed dolls. My first BJD was Puki Puki Pipi. Puki Puki Flora joined us later. I think their tiny little bodies are just perfect. My only Super Dollfie sized doll is my Domadoll Goni (last of the pictures). Most recent addition is YoSD Tanpopo. Huge wishlist in BJDs, they are amazingly beautiful but oh so expensive.

I have a few other types of dolls, but those are the notable cornerstones in my collection. Most recently, of course, Monster High. I have 10 of them now and plenty on the wishlist! It's nice to collect some dolls that are cheaper and available in local stores. I hope you enjoyed seeing some different kinds of dolls in this post.

As for wishes, well, the list is long! I'd like to get an Isul, just to round out the Pullip family. As for Blythe, I'd really love a white or palest blonde scalp, like Darling Diva. BJD-wise, Choko Puki Rose - fat chance, I know. I'd also love a YoSD or SD girl with sweet little teefies >.< so cute. Yup, an open mouthed girl has been on my list for a loooong time. One day.

OH! The fairytale mini LalaLoopsys. Too adorable! I especially want Little Red Riding Hood and Little Bo Peep, but honestly, just all of them please. Hahah.

The Monster High list is by far the longest. Abbey, Howleen, Operetta, Sweet 1600 girls, Classroom girls, Dead Tired Lagoona and Clawdeen. I'd like another Spectra to reroot and I want the Create A Monster packs badly. In particular the bee, the skeleton and the vampire (totally love her shoes). Hopefully with my birthday and christmas coming up I'll be able to cross a few off the list.

Don't forget you can check out photos of all my different dolls on my flickr account.

Best wishes for this busy time of year! I may post again before christmas, we'll see.
Hoping you all get a MH girl under the christmas tree. ^_^

 - Kat