On the bright side, good opportunity to change out eyes in dolls that I had been wanting to change out for a while now. Weirdly, this eye changing business took me two hours! The white tac is frustrating to use as it can get a bit sticky. Any tips on what other people use for eye putty?
On to the pretty ...
Amaryll got lighter eyes which go perfect with her grey skin. I am actually loving these in her. Usually I try to make her former dark blue eyes lighter in photoshop in photos but I don't have to anymore with these. I was surprised I had these. They must have been in another doll previously.
PS: Anyone else always end up with a surplus of eyes when you collect bjds?
These eyes don't really sit in Brunhilde's eye wells properly. They kind of are a bit funny. I might have to change them out at some stage with a similar colour but something that fits more comfortably in there.
I am always changing the eyes in my tiny dolls. However, I have always rather liked the more neutral grey in Wren particularly as I do like her in this green wig even though it makes her head look more cone shape. She has a really weird noggin. One of my favourite tan resin colours. Shame AquariusDoll has been so quiet for the past few years.
Kestrel got her eyes changed to acrylics. I never used to like acrylic eyes but I've seen some really nice ones with a lot of variation in the iris which appeals to me. And I am loving how "dewy" they look in photos. She's been a bit of a hard one to find eyes for as I never seem to like what she wears but I really like these ones for her. She is bald because I got sick of the wig she usually wears. I've always been a bit uninspired by it so I ordered her new ones but they'll take six weeks.
Arianna also got acrylic eyes in purple. I don't know why I decided to put these in her but I really like it for her. It gives her a bit of an unusual look. Plus I think it goes well with her eye make up. She's another one who has been a bit of trouble finding the right eyes for.
I also changed my watermark again. I prefer this one as you can actually read my name. And I prefer the more understated look.
I got one of those storage boxes you can store random stuff in. I mostly got it as it had a picture of Marilyn Monroe on the front. They're like the gift boxes you can get. I have one of those fancy tea bag boxes like the one here. Mother in law gave it to me for Christmas. I love all the compartments it had so I wanted something similar to store my heads and turned my Marilyn box into a head box. I could have used the actual tea bag box except the compartments weren't big enough to house SD sized heads.
It's not perfect or pretty but it does the job well enough. And it's deep enough that the lid still fits over the top perfectly keeping the heads safe and stored in a completely dark space. I could have covered the cardboard in nice scrapbook paper but then it probably wouldn't fit as snugly, if at all! Not the most original idea though. I just wish I could get an actual box like the tea bag box that was deep enough and wide enough to house my heads including the SD sized ones. But then again, glass cover so no total darkness for the heads. At least with this box, I can still adjust the cardboard pieces to make it wider or narrower as I need as everything is moveable.
Notice the two empty spaces. Maybe I should fill them with more heads!
I always used the white putty and sometimes the green one. I didn't know the green putty can affect the resin. Good to know for if I ever buy another BJD again (reading your and other BJD blogs makes me want one again, I'm afraid I will have to give in lol!). The light eyes on Amaryll are just gorgeous! The smaller dolls' eyes are lovely as well, I especially like Kestrel's eyes. That box for the heads is brilliant. It's practical and so nice to see all the heads together!
ReplyDeleteTwo of my dolls had that green putty stuff but they both have only had it in for about three weeks and it had already stained around the eye wells. Lesson learned I guess. The white putty is just hard to work with sometimes. I have to roll it out a few times to get it to stick to the resin.
DeleteWe'll I'm happy to enable the BJD love. If you do end up getting another BJD and need eyes, let me know and I will send you some of the ones I have because I have a ton and I am happy to give them away to people. I have a lot of glass eyes.
I like to see all the heads together too. This is all my resin heads at the moment. Two of them are sleeping versions of current heads and two share bodies and two are practice heads I haven't practiced on yet. I have some holidays coming up from work so I want to attempt some resin face ups then. I also want to get two more heads to share bodies.
That's very nice of you, thank you :-)! I still have a little box with eyes, but mostly ones that came for free with the dolls I think, or that didn't fit so good. I also have some shoes, and wigs. Maybe when the time comes, we can do a trade, if the shipping costs are not too high for either of us (I live in Europe). The purchase of a new doll will be for later, maybe next year, when I have more doll money again, but I am already looking around :-).
DeleteI hope you will show your face-ups on your blog!
Sounds like a neat idea. Depending what size you get, I have clothing and shoes too. (I'm in Australia). I spent my extra work hours money recently on a bunch of stuff for bjds which usually means I tend to not buy the other lines anything. I have to split it between all my collections but I am not really buying many more IT dolls anyway or Tonner or Momoko. I'm actually thinking of putting some of my IT, Pureneemo and Momoko up for sale soon. I just need to take photos of them!
DeleteAs for the eye putty my faceup artist recommends UHU Patafix. It's really strange that someone was selling Sculpey as eye putty. Ugh, unfortunately the Internet is full of dishonest sellers. Amaryll's eyes look like those worn by my Hikaru. :) And I like the ones Arianna has, even though they're acrylic. As for the box, it's a good idea. It reminds me of storing Xmas ornaments. :) But getting to the point - doesn't Ikea have a box like that? I think I've seen something similar in their catalogue.
ReplyDeleteI will have to look that up. Thank you for the tip. I bought it from Luts and I just checked and it says "Sculpey - Eye Putty". They do also sell the UHU stuff as well so I don't know. I'm not familiar with Sculpey either so I would have just assumed it was fine but the collector that had the resin melting around the eyewells also used this particular 'eye putty' and had it in her dolls for a few years. It just didn't click that it was the same Sculpey I had heard about that is that heat cure stuff. Lesson learned I guess. I only had it in mine for a few days luckily so no visible harm was done that I could see.
DeleteI never used to like acrylics but there are some really interesting ones out there recently compared to back when I started in the hobby.
Sadly, we don't have an Ikea up here in the northern regions because we're just not important enough I guess. But next time I am down in Brisbane, I will have a look as they definitely have an Ikea. They don't deliver either. I checked into all that when they were selling those mini doll furniture things. I did get one of them though when I went to a trip to Brisbane one time but it took up a heap of room in my suitcase! Next time I'll remember to bring an extra one!
Oh, one more thing, if your eyes don't fit the eye sockets properly it might be because of high dome. I prefer those with low dome but most companies usually don't give this information on their sites and you have to write a message and ask.
DeleteYou know speaking of low domes, I am having a really hard time finding them. It seems like a lot of sellers only sell the high dome eyes. Do you know of any specific low dome sellers?
DeleteUnfortunately I don't know any particular companies but perhaps some sellers on Etsy may have low dome eyes.
DeleteThanks for the suggestion! I will check out Etsy.
DeleteAs I don't have any resin doll yet - I can't comment anything of the practical part of eye changing. ;)
ReplyDeleteI can only say that your dolls are absolutely beautiful and Amaryll with this new look is just stunning.
Resin dolls I find are my most high maintenance doll collections just because of the sheer amount of stuff I have to always get for them. They're very hands on which I really like but then there are days I prefer to take photos of my IT girls because they're less maintenance.
DeleteI always wanted a doll like that, but it's so complicated to buy one here in my country, it's only made in the countries of the south and it's always very expensive around here ... It's a dream!
ReplyDeleteThis is how I used to feel back in the 2005/2006, these dolls were hard to get in Australia too. Plus very expensive and I had a job that didn't really pay me enough to spend on what I call "extras" so I didn't end up getting one until 2009 when I had a better paying job and it was a lot easier to get these dolls by that stage. It was always a dream for me and to this day, I am still quite amazed that I own several of these dolls. I have never regretted getting them though. They make me happy and that's what a hobby is all about.
DeleteRight now, in Australia, the exchange rate is horrendous so even a more affordable doll for us is at least a hundred dollars more than the USD listed price. So it's gone back to being a bit more expensive again for us. But I find careful budgeting and saving helps a lot to obtain a doll. Dreams can come true and one day, you may be able to get that doll you want.
There are also a lot of more affordable companies these days as compared to a few years ago; Resinsoul are great dolls. I love them and they have great customer service. Impldoll is another company that is quite affordable and I love their customer service too. I have a tab at the top of my blog with companies I buy from. Sadly some have gone out of business but these two are definitely still around.
OMG do I have surplus eyes!!! But in a way it's handy having so many on hand, especially when you want to change them. If I had to wait for eyes to be delivered each time I'd probably never bother. As to the eye putty, I have some that came in a little pot, but can't remember now where I bought it. I have also used white tack and so far haven't had a sticky problem.
ReplyDeleteThat box is perfect for the heads Alasse. 👍
Hugs,
X
It seems everything in this hobby takes forever to get to you. I've already been waiting over a month for two wigs. And my other wig order is most likely going to take three months and I ordered only three wigs! Ack. Seems to be getting as long as waiting for a doll these days.
DeleteThe problem with the white tac I have is that it doesn't stick to the resin and I have to try so many times before it will. It' a pain but I picked up some Mack's silicone ear plugs the other day so I'm set now. Still have to use the white tac on silicone eyes though.
If I get more heads, I may need to invest in another box!
I've read about problems with Scupley on DoA - apparently it can be very harmful... I'm using Faber-Castell Tack-it (either green or white) - I got it with my first dolls and it works fine so far. Buuuut... I really hate changing eyes (so I don't have that much of them). No matter how many times I correct it, it always looks to me like my dolls are cross-eyed.
ReplyDeleteAnd the box full of goodies looks lovely :)!
I didn't read the description properly before I ordered but because I only had it in for a few days, I think it was okay. Just be careful of the green tack. Mine had stained on the inside of her head. I've changed it out now and thrown it away. Shame as it was pretty good at sticking to resin. I am always changing out eyes in my dolls. I get bored with their look and often tweak them a bit. There are a few though that I don't change but I still take them out to give it a bit of a clean. I've noticed even glass gets a bit of dust on it and can feel a bit grimey to the touch after a while.
DeleteGreat box for heads! Could not be better!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to changing eyes, I rather do that as seldom as I can. Sometimes it is needed, just for cleaning and changing the putty. Over here we do not have so much options for putty. One is grays and stains a lot on everything, so I rather not use that. Others dry out in couple of months and are not an option. So, I am 'stuck' with the putty that comes with the doll or order some extra from a company that sells stuff for model (plains, cars, boats and so on) building. They even have the sealants I may need! :)
Your dolls look so pretty, like the eyes on Kestrel and Amaryll. <3
Ah that's a shame. I think even the white tac stuff is okay as it doesn't really stain the head. The sculpey is a big one and I noticed a few places sell it as eye putty. That stuff is bad for resin. Do you guys have the clear silicone earplugs over there? You can use that too for eye putty.
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