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