What do you do while you wait?

[OkamiKodomo]

Even though I've only been in the hobby for three years (holy crap, Vespera is about to have a birthday, followed by Rune), I have managed to adapt to the wait times. I look at a 3 month wait and go 'oh that's not too bad'.... I'm currently only halfway through a six month wait on a layaway. I have a DC body and a DZ head going to two separate resin people, and then I just placed the order for my ResinSoul Seng on the new body, and my girlfriend, who is seriously the most wonderful girlfriend in the world, is trading some major commission work for a Dream of Doll DOI Lahoo for me... and my IOS Cho should be shipping any day now (which was my Christmas gift). But my problem is, I start shopping around for "the next one" as soon as I've ordered one. My next thing though is going to be 2 bodies for some floating heads. Then it will be an Impldoll Idol Joshua. After that, hopefully I'll be done for a while. I want to focus on the people I have.

[MeltedCaramel]

OkamiKodomo Haha, you're another person that's too patient!! A lot of my excitement is coming from the fact that these are customs of dolls that I've ALWAYS wanted 1/6 versions of but never thought it was possible, and in some cases they're dolls where versions were either promised in another scale and then never released or there are versions of some of the dolls out there but they're done in the Pullip style which...well, let's just say big-headed chibis really don't suit some of these characters. So now I feel like a kid waiting for dollieh Christmas. Oh, also, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of commission work does your girlfriend do Okami? I know you mentioned in another thread that she carves into the resin (I think it was in the sux thread where you mentioned the accidental purchase of a recast---I'm so sorry that happened, but since you didn't know and it was an honest mistake I'm glad it sounds like your girlfriend fell in love with the doll anyway. It's definitely the sweetness and the thoughtfulness that counts.), does she post pictures of her commission work anywhere? I'd love to see some stuff if she posts publicly.

[CrazyYoungCatLady]

I like to craft for my in-coming dolls. Sometimes it's hard to make clothes if I've never sewn for the size/brand, but I still have fun.

[OkamiKodomo]

[snip] Oh, also, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of commission work does your girlfriend do Okami? I know you mentioned in another thread that she carves into the resin (I think it was in the sux thread where you mentioned the accidental purchase of a recast---I'm so sorry that happened, but since you didn't know and it was an honest mistake I'm glad it sounds like your girlfriend fell in love with the doll anyway. It's definitely the sweetness and the thoughtfulness that counts.), does she post pictures of her commission work anywhere? I'd love to see some stuff if she posts publicly.

She does... anything and everything lol. She's working on custom sculpts of her own (and teaching me), she makes doll clothing (she just finished a commission for some outfits for a friend), does doll tattoos and faceups and body blushing. We both have very different artistic styles so we don't have to worry about competing for customer base. She also can, has, and does, completely restructure the joints on a doll that she feels isn't as functional as she thinks it could or should be. She was instrumental in giving me the courage to reconstruct the joints in my RS Li body's torso, and she encouraged me to turn the single joints on my RS Fei's legs into double joints. I shall shamelessly pimp her flickr right on over here --> Myrretah's Flickr. She has pictures of the recast boy up there as well.

Oh! Like many others here, I also like to shop around for wigs and eyes, but because each doll that comes home now is a predestined character, it's a very tedious process to find just the "right" wig. If I have a doll of similar proportions, I will also sometimes make clothes for them before they get here, but I'm usually afraid to do this because I like stuff I make to FIT.

[CrazyYoungCatLady]

Oh! Like many others here, I also like to shop around for wigs and eyes, but because each doll that comes home now is a predestined character, it's a very tedious process to find just the "right" wig. If I have a doll of similar proportions, I will also sometimes make clothes for them before they get here, but I'm usually afraid to do this because I like stuff I make to FIT.

OMG, yes. Eyes are fairly easy for me to find, but I am SO picky about wigs. It's hard to buy a wig for a doll you don't have, especially if you're going to do a special faceup.

[OkamiKodomo]

LOL! Yeah I'm ridiculously picky, but I know people worse than me. ~cough~ Currently, I'm trying to find a wig and eyes for Ashe. He had a wig... someone else ganked it. He has copper hair, like, true fiery copper with long bangs and the rest in a ponytail. His eyes are this cold brown color that's got threads of blue and red... anyway. I may end up making his eyes myself.

[MeltedCaramel]

CrazyYoungCatLady Ahhh, see sewing is just another waiting game for me, since I cannot sew (believe me, I've tried for years to get that 'spark' with sewing that gets you down the road to a new hobby, but all I ended up with were a couple simple plushies for my younger sister who, bless her heart, loves them despite their very obvious flaws (we're talking "I got frustrated so I hot glued it" flaws). So my seamstress, the only one I really trust for anything beyond a simple outfit, is across the ocean and waiting for her stuff becomes yet another mini waiting game!

OkamiKodomo Ohhhhkay....first off, I have to say, while I'm so sorry that you got a recast, can I be honest for a minute and say your girlfriend's talent has turned a recast doll into probably one of the most amazing doll modifications I've seen in a long time? I know people have done the whole steampunk-fantasy clockwork thing before, replete with keys for hearts and the works (it's a surprisingly common theme, don't think I'm making a statement about the doll, no, not at all, quite to the contrary, this feels original despite having seen the concept before) but this doll...I can't wait to see him finished. Is he allowed to be post on Dollieh Sanctuary in all his glory when he's done? I'm in love with the bits and pieces of back story I've managed to glean from your girlfriend's posts and the golem-like construct idea, the sorcerer (whom I assume is his other half? Pardon me if I'm assuming too much!), all of it is so incredible. All of her work....arghhh, I wish I weren't a 1/6 loyalist because I've seen both of your works (I saw your faceup post here <3) now and...ughh, just SO MUCH GORGEOUS. You make me want to buy a doll simply so I can send it to you both to deconstruct and carve and tattoo the hell out of it. If I had the money I would!! See why money is in danger around me? I'm sure the mods I'm thinking of aren't cheap, even if we cut out the $300-600 I'd pay for your average 1/4 doll (I do love the 1/4 size, one day I may relent on resin for that size. ).

Thank you for sharing her flickr!! Yeah, if I "relent on resin" I know who I'm going to for mods (because I just can't leave things alone you see! )

As for waiting, you're still too patient. Even though I modify 1/6 dolls into "character/fashion dolls", I can relate to the "just the right wig" issue. I've wasted over $80 in product and mandatory EMS shipping now because Parabox can't get its shit together and show a true and accurate representation of their brown wigs. The first one looked like a light brown that I could live with even if it wasn't the "middling" colour I'd usually try and get for the character and it came looking like Lucille Ball red *sigh* (with characters, especially anime ones, I use a process I call, you guessed it, "middling" where I pick a colour that's between the darkest colour ever shown on screen and the lightest colour ever shown on screen, because animation is notorious for changing the colour pallete on characters and I find they look most like "themselves" when I "middle" them. ) So much for waiting therapy with shopping!

[OkamiKodomo]

~grin~ MC, I showed your post to her and she totally got all misty-eyed and said thank you. You totally made her night, FYI. She really IS talented but she won't believe me when I tell her that. In regards to her posting him here, she has a thread set up for him, and has some pics up. She has reported him to the DOA mods and shown them the letter from Dream of Doll, and they noted her account that he has been reported, so they won't ban her if someone runs to them crying that she owns him. It was a really crappy situation that she managed to turn around (and we did end up getting a partial refund for him... we just weren't comfortable sending him back to the seller only for him to be sold again, and we have no doubt she would, as while she denied knowing it was a recast, we ended up befriending the person that reported the original listing, and messaged the seller that it was a recast). In answer to your questions, no, the sorcerer isn't what you'd call his "other half", he is a sort of guardian. He collects broken, unwanted and/or unfinished things and fixes them when he can, gives them a home when he can't. Ferrous is one of the latter. Zephyr can't fix or finish him, so he gives him a home. He mixes technology and magic, and surrounds himself with his constructs, and the ones he takes under his wing. He later does fix Celeste (she is the DC Christina head I got with the gift certificate from ordering Vorel's body) when Ferrous begs him to, although he wouldn't have had to beg. Zephyr would have done it anyway. Even though Celeste won't be home for a while yet, we are making her backstory lol.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

I currently seem to spending the time waiting for one doll finding others I want to buy Not a strategy I'd necessarily recommend...!

I try to find wigs, clothes and eyes for them. Rarely names and backstories though - with a couple of exceptions these only seem to click once the doll is here. I've actually ended up selling the majority of dolls I've bought to shell pre-existing OCs into as they never seem to work for me.

[SymphonicEnkelli]

Just bought a dress for my doll yesterday! It will be here on Friday. Hopefully this can tie me over for awhile. Lol!

And I totally understand everyone's wig woes, well, mostly. Find clothing and shoes is pretty easy, but wigs are nearly impossible. Finding the right color, style, length and size is nearly impossible. And it seems like it's all just one big guessing game.