I was trying to auction off this sweet girl for over a month with no takers. I figure that's The Universe telling me I need to keep her.
Sounds like a good plan to me!
Because She's Just So Lovely...
More photos of Smoky Day Gena with her new eyes and wig!
Taken with flash. Her new eyes really catch the light!
Lovely One Of A Kind Eyes For Your BJD
My lovely Soom Smoky Day Gena BJD came with beautiful default blue eyes, which have a lot of depth on their own. However, there was just something about them that didn't 'call' to me. She's lovely with them, but I wanted something a little different.
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I search eBay a lot (more than I should), but never found any set of eyes that I thought were an improvement to what Soom provided. Everything looked so... ordinary.
On a whim, I did a search on Etsy for BJD eyes. I stumbled across a UK seller who hand makes gorgeous eyes, and made them in the right size for my Gena, 18mm. The shop is named CandyKittensEmporium. She has several eye colors she makes as her "standard". The one I finally settled on after much debate is named Briar Rose. I chose these because it has the blue tones that look so good on Smoky Day Gena, with a bit more depth with flecks of red and deeer blues added.
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For just $11.99 plus a few dollars for shipping, I am thrilled with my purchase. Because she makes them by hand you have to be patient. It took roughly two and a half weeks for me to get mine, about a week for shipping time because she had to ship to me in the United States from the UK. These eyes were totally worth the wait!
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My camera is not doing these eyes justice. As she is sitting on her shelf now, those eyes are catching all the different lights that come into the room. Where the Soom eyes are lovely, these new eyes truly have depth.
The wig Gena is in is new, and purchased because of all the blues. The new eyes make this new wig even lovlier on her. With her snow white skin, she has an ethereal quality now, even in her currently modern clothing.
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I am very happy with this purchase, especially the friendly customer service. I have several other of her standard colors on my 'watch' list, but she also offers customized eyes, too. If I was in the market for creating a specific character, I would definitely turn to CandyKittensEmporium for the eyes!
The eyes I received are flat, but the next set I purchase I may request they be domed, since she offers both. The flat eyes took me just a little fussing to get in place so they looked right. Now that they are in, I think they're perfect!
I highly recommend this Etsy seller for one of a kind BJD eyes. They are definitely worth the wait!
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Horsman Urban Vita My Valentine Doll Review
This was a total splurge. I ordered one of the very limited edition Horsman Urban Vita My Valentine dolls. It took two months longer to get than I expected, which was good, since it gave me enough time to pony up the rest of the $200 retail price to complete the pre-order when it came in. This was limited to 100 dolls produced, and at least according to the Horsman site, very small quantities may still be available. I ordered mine from Angelic Dreamz.
I had heard about Horsman dolls for several years, and how they are one of the oldest doll makers in the United States. I believe they made one of the first ball jointed vinyl dolls. My Valentine has mechanical ball joints, and shows off all 19 points of articulation, allowing her to sit cross legged with ease, and even double jointed on the floor. She can actually put her hands on her hips, and cup her chin in her hands, and look natural doing it. She will give many of my resin BJDs a run for their money in this area.
The facepaint is stunning. At first I wasn't sure I would like her, but in person those side glancing blue eyes are full of attitude. She is extremely photogenic, looking great even with my cell phone camera. Properly lighted and with a nice backdrop... Gorgeous!
Her curly blonde wig has cause for one of my three small issues with the doll. The tag sticks out in the back, and makes putting the wig on a little fussier than I thought it should be. The wig fits snugly, and doesn't move once you get it in position, but it took me several tries. That tag ended up sticking out on her neck, sometimes popping out just when I thought I had it on right. But once the wig is on properly, with the tag tucked up, you're in business. It was a small annoyance that doesn't detract from the quality. I did need to fluff up the curls a bit, since they got smooshed down during shipping, but that's to be expected. I love the curls! It makes her look very glamorous, like she could be starring in the upcoming Great Gatsby movie this winter. It definitely is part of her awesome attitude!
The jewelry is very nice. The glitzy bracelet fits her wrist perfectly, although I scraped her hand a bit getting it on. Her fingers do bend a little, making it possible to get the bracelet on with such a snug fit. Her hands are amazing, with each finger separated. She doesn't have two or three fingers connected like a lot of vinyl dolls her size. If I could make them that small, I could put tiny fingered gloves on her. It's a challenge I may have to undertake in the future, because it would look so cool!
Her shoes will be a source of aggravation for me. They are a pretty silver, and fit her foot well, but the buckles and strap feel so thin that I don't know if I can cinch the strap around her ankle without snapping it. It looks funny on her foot because of it, and also lets the shoes pop off very easily as I move her around. If I'm just posing her in one place, they'll be fine, except I'll know that strap isn't as tight as it should be. Again, a very small annoyance, and this one is more because I'm afraid to be too aggressive with the part.
The dress. Oh man, the dress! It's a soft burgundy velvet-type fabric, clingy and slinky. The back is cut low and sexy. The shoulder straps have little buckles to add the right bit of sparkle. The dress is floor length with a great drape. But the fascinating part for me was the inner construction. To prevent her joints from showing through the clingy fabric, they added what is basically a girdle. Her legs slide into the swimsuit-type material, which makes the dress fit even more securely, and gives a smooth line. Awesome!
The fur stole is great, too. It is lined with soft pink fabric, with tabs added for sliding her arms into. Again, it secures the item onto the doll. The long silver fabric gives a ton of options for more styling. You can leave it loose, or tie it into a bow in the back, or have it drape over her arms.
The only other issue I had with the doll was I had to punch my own earring holes. I was surprised that these weren't pre-punched for me so she could wear her earrings. The issue was easily solved with a thumb tack, but it was still a little unnerving to have to manhandle my brand new doll like that. But now that it's done, it's done, and the earrings look great on her!
She also came with a box of chocolates. It's a nice touch, and I liked that they had each chocolate secured to the box instead of a ton of loose pieces. But I don't know how I could have her hold the box except like she's delivering a pizza. The details are wonderful, though, and it will make a very nice prop for posing her with a table. Especially if I can splurge on some of Horsman's other doll accessories, like the martini glass set!
Overall I am extremely pleased with the Horsman Urban Vita My Valentine, and think she is worth every penny. Unlike other dolls I have purchased in the past, this one will remain complete for my personal collection. Because she is the same height and roughly the same dimensions as my other fashion dolls, including my Tonner and Wilde Imagination collection, I anticipate a lot of new clothes for her in the future, especially some hand knits.
I plan to do a sizing comparison between my 16 inch fashion dolls in the near future, and will post the results. The main differences I expect will be the bust line, hips, and waistline, but I think it won't be so drastic that clothing made out of knits and other stretchy fabric won't be able to cross fashion doll lines with ease.
Be sure to check out the full gallery of photos here!
Now it's time to make sure my newest doll is safely on a shelf, and well away from the curious paws of our three cats. I will determinedly ignore the jealous looks my other dolls give My Valentine, as she lounges in her glamorous outfit and several of them still wait impatiently for a new gown. Oh, the suffering of my dolls!
Black And White Dress
This is a simple series of rectangles folded, pressed, and sewn together. I checked the fit several times so it would fit Rainy specifically.
Now that I have the basic idea down I'll be making a lot more so all my resin family can have a nice new sundress!
