Arkadian Dreams

Commission: Rose Corset for LuWen boy

2011-12-03T21:41:00.001Z

Rose Corset - custom commission

This weekend I finished a special custom commission; a ten-panel corset for a Luts Type 2 boy - a LuWen. From drafting the pattern to fixing the last eyelet, it took about 7 hours' work in total, including hand-embroidering every singe rose.

The corset is sewn from pale pink satin overlaid with pink crystal organza and lined in taffeta. It is embroidered in silk thread with a design of roses, embellished with diamante trim and French knots worked in silver thread, adorned with pink satin ribbon rose. Pink satin pleating forms the bust, and it laces up the back with a white satin ribbon through five pairs of metallic pink eyelets.

This was a custom one-off commission, but a similar custom embroidered corset - for either male or female doll - would be about £45 depending on fabrics used & the complexity of the design. I can also make matching shoes and other garments and am happy to discuss commissions.

Latest handicrafts - new stock

2011-04-22T23:05:00.000+01:00

Latest stock for my Etsy shop:

Autumn Flame wig for BJDs, size 8-9

Pink and Silver Warwick Brocade court shoes for SD-13 girls:

I'm currently working on another 8-9 wig - in purple and white.

Tutorial: Court shoes for BJDs

2011-03-27T00:00:00.002Z

In this tutorial I will be covering how to make a pair of court shoes for a BJD. My model is Amelie, my Volks Syo SD-13 girl with heel feet, but the techniques used are applicable to pretty much any BJD capable of wearing shoes with a heel.

Supplies: White PVA or clear all-purpose glue, outer fabric for upper (here I'm using pink silk Warwick brocade, £2.99 for a 25cmX25cm square from Dollhouse Trims which will make one pair of shoes), lining fabric (white-on-white floral print cotton, 75p for a piece 9"X11"), cardboard insole & sole pieces - four for each foot (trace around doll's foot then cut out from sturdy card), insole fabric (cut 2 from lining fabric about 5mm larger all round than the cardboard insole) and leather sole (cut 2 from leather or pleather the same size as the insole fabric). You will also need needles for fabric and leather/pleather, thread, scissors, 4-6 clothes pegs and 4 elastic bands.

Take 2 cardboard insole pieces. Glue them together then, whilst the glue is still wet, place them against the sole of doll's foot, strapping them in place with 2 hair elastics as shown above. Pegs are useful to help keep the toes in place whilst the glue is drying. Repeat with the other foot, then set aside until the glue has dried. Set aside these two insoles, then repeat with the remaining 4 cardboard soles until you have 2 pairs of shaped soles. These will be the soles and insoles of the shoes.

Now glue the leather/pleather soles to one set of card soles, and the lining insole fabric to the other set. You may find pegs come in handy to hold the leather to the card whilst the glue dries.

Make a pattern for the upper by draping a piece of kitchen towel over your doll's foot and marking on it where you want the upper edge of the court shoe to come around the foot. Then draw around where the base will come, and add on an additional 1cm all round to allow for gathering under the sole of the foot. Cut out the pattern then trace around it onto a piece of paper. This will be your template for the fabric upper; you can see mine in the photo above. One side of the template should be a little thinner than the other; this will be the instep side that faces the arch of the foot. Cut out 2 from the brocade, reversing it for one, and 2 from the lining fabric (again reversing the template for one). Stitch the heel on each piece then sew the linings to the outer uppers so you have a completed upper as shown above. Check for fit on the doll's feet.

Take one of the fabric-covered insoles, and sewing a simple running stitch around the edge of the fabric. Gather it so the fabric folds over the card, then lace the thread back and forth across the underside of the insole as shown.

Stitch a simple running stitch around the outside edge of the left upper, then place it on your doll's foot, then place the left insole against the sole of his/her foot. (Disregard any alarmed glances they may give you at this point.) Pull the gather stitches on the upper tight so it closes over the edge of the insole then lace the edges together across the insole as shown. Repeat with the right foot.

It's now starting to take shape and look like a shoe. Rather than settle for a plain court shoe, I decided I wanted to have a tongue at the front of Amelie's shoes; I made this by tracing around the main toe area and making a "cap" for the front of the shoe that incorporated a tongue. The top part of the tongue is lined with a small rectangle of lining fabric. I then stitched the cap to the front of the upper before sewing the line of gathering stitches. This results in a stiffer toe area which holds the shape better, incidentally.

Now take one of the sole pieces, and start lacing the edges of the leather/pleather tightly over the inside of the sole as shown. Make sure you pull the thread tight and keep the stitches fairly close together around the toe and heel areas to eliminate any sharp bumps around the curve. I recommend using a stout button thread for this, but a double thickness of a good strong cotton will also suffice. Repeat with the other sole.

Spread a generous layer of glue over the inside of the sole, then press firmly against the cardboard underside of the insole. Clamp in place using hair elastics and pegs then repeat with the other foot. Leave to dry for a few hours until the uppers and insoles are firmly bonded to the soles and dry.

View of the underside showing how the curve of the arch is held firmly in place against the foot by the hair elastic. A peg on the toe works very well to clamp upper and sole together at that point.

Now it's time to make the heel. There are various options at this point; you could carve one from a lightweight wood, mould one from Fimo or Sculpy then bake it, or you can make one from card. I've opted here for the latter. I've made two tapered cones from card that are flattened on one side into a D shape. Place them against the sole of the shoe to check height and fit.

Cut two little D shapes out of card and glue them into the smaller end of the heels.

To increase the strength of the heels I've filled them with glue from a hot glue gun; you could also use an airdrying clay such as Milliput or use Plaster of Paris.

Once firm and dry, coat the outside of the heels in glue then cover with fabric. I've chosen to use more of the same pink brocade that I used for the uppers, but you could also use more of the same leather or pleather used for the sole, depending on preference. Use pegs to hold the facric in place whilst the glue dries.

Here you can see the shoes and the heels drying. I decided to add a diamante buckle and a couple of dusky pink satin ribbon roses to each shoe. After decorating them I then added a touch more glue to the toe and heel areas and clamped them with the clothes pegs before leaving them to dry.

Once the heels are dry, trim the fabric at each end to about 3-4mm beyond the ends. Make short vertical cuts around the top and bottom edges so you can fold the fabric flat against the top and bottom of the heel. Spread glue over the bottom (small) end of one heel, then fold over the flaps against the bottom. Spread a little more glue over the top then press firmly down onto a piece of leather/pleather; this will be the heel cap. Clamp in place with a peg. Do the same with the other heel then leave to dry.

Here Amelie models the almost-complete shoes; all they lack is the heels.

Once the heels are completely dry, trim away the excess leather/pleather around the heel. Now spread glue over the top of the heel and, as before, fold over the fabric flaps to lie flat over the top of the heel. Spread more glue over the flaps then press the heel firmly against the sole of the shoe, placing it carefully so the shoe will balance and the doll be able to stand upright in the shoes.

Repeat for the other shoe then leave to dry; I find the best way to do this is to either set the doll in a stand, wearing the shoes, so the doll's weight downwards will provide the necessary pressure for a good strong bond or, if you don't have a stand, just sit the doll upright on a pile of books or a box, and place a heavy book on his/her knees. Leave for a few hours until the glue has completely dried.

And there you have it - one pair of court shoes for your doll!

These techniques are how actual human shoes are made, with the exception that heeled shoes for humans incorporate a shank (usually steel) into the arch of the sole to provide support to the instep and strengthen the shoe to withstand the rigours and stress of wear and walking. Doll feet don't need support however and doll shoes are not subjected to the same wear and tear so a shank can be safely omitted. Also, instead of shaping against an actual human foot, shoemakers use a wooden form called a "last". When making doll shoes, you can use the doll itself or a spare pair of feet as lasts.

Amelie: Amidst Flowers in Bloom

2011-03-24T14:03:00.000Z

Amelie, my Volks Syo Beauty White Oldskin Sd-13 girl arrived today! She formerly belonged to Jola but has now come to live with the rest of the resin denizens of Arkadian Dreams. :-) She is my second Volks doll and brings the current tally to 14 dolls - with an additional head (a BW LuWen Elf vampire head to reshell Satin's character) on the way; in fact I believe it's currently sitting at Heathrow as I write!

Amelie's character was rather evident the moment she came out of the box; she "refused" the wig and eyes I'd intended for her, and wasn't much taken with the outfit I'd selected for her either! She's a bit of a stroppy madam - she was very kicky whilst I was trying to dress her and even pinched my finger in one of her knee joints, which is a first for me! It appears she's something of a feisty red-head; character and personality-wise she very much seems to have taken over Ren's position as bolshy resident ginger-headed girl now Ren has gone back to her owner redcountess.

A photoshoot amongst the blossoming honeysuckle and camellias in the garden seems to have mollified her somewhat, thankfully!

Amelie's face-up was done a number of years ago by Evenstar. I'm intending to ever-so-slightly touch it up as Evenstar didn't paint her teeth, instead settling for airbrushing over them which I think is a shame - one of the attractions of the Syo sculpt for me are the little teeth! I shall also be giving her a delicate manicure and perhaps piercing her ears.

Awaiting His Fate

2011-03-06T22:58:00.000Z

Experimenting with lighting effects using an LED torch and blacklight. A sheet of black polar fleece makes an effective backdrop.

No Shiwoos were harmed in the making of this photoshoot. ;-)

Lazy Sunday

2011-03-06T22:56:00.000Z

Marius seemed to be rather reluctant to leave the comfort of his bed this morning!

He wasn't the only one, it seems; Perseus always sappears to be startled by the morning:

And Myrddin is always such a deep sleeper, it can be hard to tell if he's dreaming or dead:

But both Perseus and Myrddin enjoy a sleepy cuddle in bed on a lazy Sunday morning.

Photostories blog

2011-03-05T12:30:00.000Z

I've now set up a seperate blog for photostories. All Arkadian Dreams photostories from "Lost In The Snow" onwards can be found there, and all further installments in the series will be posted there. Please add the Arkadian Dreams Stories blog to your bookmarks to continue following the story!

Just Marius

2011-02-28T19:37:00.002Z

Marius' old auburn wavy wig (which he's had as his default, on and off, since I first got him back in November 2005), has finally died a death and is just too frizzy and ratty really to be wearable any more. So I decided to pop this ginger Monique wig on him for now.

It's actually a size too large, but with velcro it holds in place. It's actually just as old as his old wig, but has withstood the test of time better; and the lighter colour seems to suit his face-up very well.

Marius is a whiteskin Dollshe V2 Hound.

Arkadian Dreams Group Portrait

2011-01-31T22:54:00.001Z

Click picture for fullsize version.

My entire collection as of 31st january 2011, representing nearly 6 years in the hobby.

Eric Asmodey: NS CP Shiwoo
Marius Asmodey: WS Dollshe Hound V.2
Galhaia: NS CP Juri05/Obitsu hybrid
Tim-Tam: WS ambicrony Kumi boy
Emrys: BW CP Shiwoo/AOD hybrid
Perseus de la Croix: BW CP Vampire Breakaway 05
Christine: NS CP Lishe
Victoria: BW Volks F-22 SD-13 girl
Myrddin: BW CP Dreaming Shiwoo/Fdoll hybrid
Kai: NS CP El
Gabrielle Asmodey: NS CP Minifee Shiwoo girl
Lucien: NS CP Minifee Vampire Elf Shiwoo, modded
Taliesin: Obitsu Haruka Elf boy, modded

Dolls stolen in L.A.

2011-01-31T11:38:00.000Z

These dolls were stolen from a fellow collector late at night from a car in L.A. The thief took a random load of stuff from the car, including dirty laundry and a packet of trail mix. They almost certainly had no idea of the value of these dolls. They may show up on eBay simply as "big dolls".

Resinsoul Grey

Dollstown Soph head on an Impldoll body

Notdoll Belladonna

Soom Syen/Impl baby hybrid and BC Elf Lotti

Victoria in Monochrome

2011-01-21T20:49:00.002Z

Victoria poses in an outfit by Nezumitoo of Angel Hunt. Rose top: white jersey cotton top with black rose accents and over-long sleeves with striped cuffs. Chess skirt: black cotton Lolita-style skirt with black and white chess border.

Victoria in the Garden

2011-01-18T15:04:00.002Z

So finally the weather cleared up just enough to let me redo Victoria's face-up before the heavens opened again the next day; but then today turned out fine and sunny (if rather chilly). Just perfect for a few photos in the garden to show off her new face-up!

I'm very pleased with how her face-up turned out; she's the sweet-faced girl I'd intended all along, and you can properly see that lovely little Kun smile that made me fall in love with the mold over 5 years ago. And the lilac wig I'd originally bought for her now suits her properly, too.

So now Victoria is finally here and properly complete. :-)

Wig: Cancan J-series 51a in Light Purple
Eyes: 16mm glass in Light Blue
Dress: Alice's Collections

2010-12-12T21:39:00.003Z

Acrylic Eyes

All eyes are acrylic half-rounds. Price is £5.00 per pair.
Shipping: Within UK - £1.00 for first pair plus 35p for each additional pair.
Within EU - £2.00 for first pair plus 35p for each additional pair.
Worldwide - £4.50 for first pair plus 50p for each additional pair.

Click on the link below each picture to go to the Etsy listing.

16mm eyes:

Ice Pearl

Ice Pearl pupilless

Water Pearl

Water Pearl pupilless

Lilac Pearl

Lilac Pearl pupilless

Crimson Glitter

Crimson Glitter pupilless

18mm:

Lilac Pearl pupilless

Purple Rain

Purple Rain with lilac pupils
Reduced price due to slight defects - only £3.75

Aqua Glitter pupilless

Crimson Glitter

Pearl acrylic doll eyes, 16mm

2010-12-11T23:24:00.002Z

Pearl acrylic doll eyes, 16mm by *ArkadyRose on deviant ART

Three pairs of 16mm acrylic doll eyes completed today; they are currently available for sale in my Etsy shop. Pupilless versions are also available; I can also supply both normal and pupilless versions in 14mm and 18mm, or can do any size from 8mm-22mm upon request.

Photostory: "You cannot sleep!" (Perseus [CP Vampire Breakaway 05], Satin [CP Elf Chiwoo])

2010-12-02T14:55:00.003Z

A few hours later:

I must have fallen asleep. Not clever, Kynaston Dane; not clever at
all - we could both have frozen to death out here. Hmm. Snow seems
deeper now, too.... Oh dear Gods, Perseus! Is he...?

Hmm. Hard to tell. Do vampires have pulses? ... wait, I feel something.
I think he's alive. He seems to be breathing, thanks be! But he can't stay sleeping here....

Satin: "Perseus... Perseus! You have to wake up! It's not safe for you to sleep
here like this; you're going to freeze to death!"
Perseus: *drowsily* "But I'm already dead...."

Satin: "No, you're not - but you will be if you stay out here much longer!
Come on, you can't sleep now - you have to get up!"

Perseus: "...Satin? Where... where are we? I was dreaming...."
Satin: "I don't know; we're lost somewhere. how are you feeling?
Perseus: "Frozen."

Satin: "Unsurprising; you were unconscious in the snow for hours.
We both were. Can you sit up?"
Perseus: "I think so... oh... I feel so weak and cold...."

Perseus: *moans* "Ohhh... so cold it hurts.... Satin, vampires
can't tolerate the cold for long. We go into hibernation... we
can die. It is only the blood of living things which keeps us
warm and sustains us."
Satin: "Here, take my coat, you need it more than I right now.
Blood, you say?"

Satin: "Your skin is like ice, and I can feel your heart slowing
down. You need blood.... Perseus, take mine. I have enough to
share, and I heal fast."
Perseus: "No... no, I can't... if I drink from you, you will not be
able to fight off the cold. You would risk hypothermia and worse. I
cannot allow that - not even to save my own life...."
Satin: "But without it you will die!"
Perseus: "Better that one should die and the other live, than for
both to perish - and you could not spare enough, my friend, believe
me. I refuse to be your death."

Satin: "But...."
Perseus: "Enough, Satin. I haven't the strength to argue this
further. We must pray that aid comes soon."

Satin: Yes, we must pray.... Hold on, Perseus! Let help come soon! Surely someone must come...?

To be continued....

Lost In The Snow

2010-12-02T00:02:00.002Z

Satin: "I don't think I recognise this place... Perseus, are you sure we came this way?"
Perseus: "I'm not sure... I...."

Satin: "Perseus? Are you alright?"
Perseus: "I feel so cold... weak...."
Satin: "Perseus!"

Perseus: *faintly* "...so... tired...."
Satin: "Perseus! Can you hear me? Answer me!"
Perseus: "...."

Satin: He's unconscious, or near to. It's getting dark... "Hello? Anyone there? We need help!"
Perseus: *murmuring* "Si froid... je suis si froid...aidez-moi...."

It's getting colder. He'll die if we stay out here. We both will.

Satin: "Anyone out there? Help us! Someone... anyone!!"

So cold and dark....

TBC, perhaps?

Arkadian Dreamd Advent Sale on Etsy - everything 10% off!

2010-11-29T23:18:00.001Z

I'm holding a special Advent Sale in my Etsy shop; everything 10% off between 1st-24th December. Just enter coupon code "ADvent2010" at the checkout to have the discount automatically applied! (Discount does not apply to shipping.)

Etsy
ArkadianDreams

New listings going up this week for SD & MSD-sized girl outfits.

Also coming soon:

Arkadian Dreams custom acrylic doll eyes in sizes 14mm to 20mm. Available in a wide range of styles including metallic, pearl, fantasy pupils and pupilless, I will also be accepting commissions for eyes in sizes 8mm-22m.

Originally posted at "http://arkady.dreamwidth.org/1256002.html"; you may comment either there or here.

Current Doll List

2010-11-27T00:36:00.004Z

In order of arrival:

Taliesin

Modded Obitsu Haruka Elf boy

Mods: Elf ears, pierced nipples, modelled Fimo genitalia
Face-up: Derwent watercolour pencils & Galeria acrylics, sealed with Testors Dullcote.

Marius

DollShe whiteskin Hound v.2

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.

Galhaia

Cerberus Project Juri 05 head on Obitsu body

Mods: Ears pierced
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.

Eric

Cerberus Project NS Shiwoo

Mods: facial piercings and scars
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.
Custom eyes: Masterpiece 19mm silicones designed by Arkadian Dreams.

Perseus

Modded Cerberus Project Beauty White Vampire Breakaway

Mods: Eyes opened
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.

Gabrielle

Cerberus Project Normal Skin Minifee Shiwoo girl

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV cut.

Lucien

Cerberus Project Normal Skin Minifee Vampire Elf Shiwoo

Mods: Eyes opened
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.

Tim-Tam

Bambicrony Kumi boy

Mods: none
Face-up: Bambicrony Kumi default face-up.

Myrddin

Cerberus Project Beauty White Dreaming Shiwoo

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV Cut.

Emrys

Cerberus Project Beauty White Shiwoo Special

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV Cut.

Satin

Cerberus Project Elf Chiwoo

Mods: none
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.

Kai

Cerberus Project Normal Skin El

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV Cut.

Christine

Cerberus Project Dreaming Lishe

Mods: Eyes opened
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.

Victoria

Volks FCS F22 (Kun) SD-13 girl

Mods: none
Face-up: Volks FCS custom face-up.

No longer owned:

Finrael

SoulDoll Paris

Mods: Ears pierced
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV cut.
Sold on ebay.

Miyobi

RML K-02 head on Dollzone NS girl body

Mods: none
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV cut.
Now owned by my younger teenaged daughter.

Nimue

Modded Obitsu Gretel V.1 Elf

Mods: Fimo elf ears
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV cut.
Now owned by my eldest daughter.

Alaric

Cerberus Project Kid Delf Ttory boy.

Mods: Ear pierced.
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV cut.
Sold on Ebay.

Lysande

Cerberus Project Vampire Elf Yder head

Mods: Eyes opened
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV cut.
Sold on ebay.

Sophie

Rosen Lied Tuesday's Child basic Beige

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Mr Superclear UV cut.
Sold on Den of Angels Marketplace

Neph

Dream of Doll DoC Hoo

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.
Now belongs to my eldest daughter

Matresca

Modded Cerberus Project Beauty White Vampire Dark Elf Soo

Mods: Eyes opened
Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.
Now belongs to my eldest daughter.

Ayame

Obitsu 60cm (Optional open-eye head)

Face-up: I Kan Dee "Shimmer" pastels, Inscribe pastels, Derwent watercolour pencils, Galeria acrylics, Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium, sealed with Testors Dullcote.
Sold on Ebay.

Victoria [Volks FCS WS F-22 SD13 girl]

2010-11-26T00:12:00.003Z

Dolls have come and gone from my collection over the past years; some have stayed long term, others have remained only a brief while. During that time my doll "wishlist" has fluctuated; new dolls added, others dropped.

But one doll remained constant all along over the 5 years plus that I have been in this hobby since early 2005: Volks Kun.

To be precise, an SD-13 version.

Introducing Victoria, a Volks white skin FCS F-22 (Kun headmold) SD-13 large-bust girl who arrived on the 23rd November:

Two latest sewing projects completed

2010-10-12T23:55:00.001+01:00

17th century style gentleman's suit for 60cm BJD. Lace-trimmed white chiffon shirt, metallic cobalt blue crepe breeches, white cotton jersey stockings, blue silk brocade waistcoat lined in periwinkle blue crepe-backed satin and blue silk brocade frock coat lined in cream silk with black velvet trim.

Entirely handsewn in about 40 hours. Modelled here on Satin, my Elf Chiwoo.

Inspired by the gowns of Marie Antoinette, this gown is made of blue silk brocade. The bodice is lined in pale blue cotton and adorned with three crystal organza bows. The sleeves are white cotton lace. The underskirt is beaded bridal lace.

The gown was handsewn from my own pattern and took about 20 hours to complete.

Modelled here on Gabrielle, my 45cm tall Fairyland Minifee Shiwoo girl.

Ebay Listings

2010-06-06T19:01:00.002+01:00

Blue Topaz necklace for BJDs
Click for listing

Citrine necklace for BJDs
Click for listing

Opal Teardrop necklace for BJDs
Click for listing

"Pink Flowers" for YoSD/Bambicrony/Rosen Lied tiny BJD dollfie
Click for listing

Hardware snobbery

2010-05-18T20:52:00.001+01:00

I've had my first ever submission rejection from a group on deviantART; it's a bit of a surprise, having been on dA for over 6 years now. The grounds for rejection?

The photo was taken on my Blackberry.

That was it. Because I didn't take it on a "proper camera", it was deemed a "snapshot" - artistic merit such as composition etc was not considered at all.

Interrestingly, the other photo submitted at the same time was accepted - despite the fact it was taken on a camera with lower specs than the camera on my Blackberry (2.1MP vs 3.2MP). On technical merit, it was inferior to the photo that was rejected.

It's like having a painting be rejected because it was painted using synthetic brushes instead of sable ones. It's basically hardware snobbery, pure and simple. It's missing the point.

Photography isn't about who has the more expensive kit. It's about knowing what to do with it. That $10K of equipment in your hand is worthless if you don't have the artistic talent to compose the perfect image.

From now on all photos I upload to dA will have the EXIF data stripped out. The quality of my work will speak for itself.

The worst thing about this? It's not something I can "improve" upon, skillwise; the only way in the moderators' eyes I could improve the supposed quality of my work would be solely through spending a large amount of cash. Which upon reflection speaks far more about their close-mindedness than about my skills and talent. Rejection still hurts though. :-/

Christine amongst the Camellias

2010-03-21T17:19:00.001Z

Christine is a modded Cerberus Project Dreaming Lishe.
Face-up, aesthetics and dress all by me.

Christine's Dress

2010-03-12T23:47:00.001Z

Christine's dress by *ArkadyRose on deviant ART

This is the dress I completed this evening for Christine, my incoming Cerberus Project Lishe. Sewn pretty much freeform; the only patterned part is the bodice.

Lined skirt with layers of cotton, satin and crystal organza lace with integral net petticoat, cream satin corset with cotton front panel trimmed with diamante floral detail, and a gold crystal organza top with fairytale puff sleeves. About 20 hours' work in total, every single stitch worked by hand.

A Gentleman's Hands

2010-03-01T13:21:00.001Z

I just finished sewing this pair of gloves this morning. They are handsewn in leather-look 4-way stretch "wet look" lycra for 70cm dolls such as Dollshe Hound and Bermann; Marius is modelling them. I've never attempted to sew even human-sized gloves before, let alone 1:3 scale gloves as small as this!

To give you an idea of the scale of the gloves.

They are prototypes, made to help me figure out how to make them as much as anything else. I have a better idea now of how I'm likely to go about future pairs. I've never sewn even a human-sized pair of gloves before, so this has been something of an experiment! I'm quite pleased with how they came out.

Arkadian Dreams at Etsy

2009-11-30T22:34:00.001Z

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
ArkadianDreams.etsy.com

Angel Hunt Super Gem corsets

2009-11-08T18:19:00.004Z

For a change, I'm showcasing someone else's work - that of Nezumi of Angel Hunt. The following are some lovely corsets she's designed and tailored for Soom Super Gem bodies.

Click on the pics to go to the listings.

Flutterby

Bondage Butterfly

Golden Dragon

Blue Bell

More itemscan be seen in the Angel Hunt Etsy shop. Please do take a look; they are very well made and fully-lined.

Kai & I

2009-10-18T18:10:00.000+01:00

Kai, the first BJD I ever saw and the one that got me into the hobby in the first place, posing on my shoulder. You can't quite see it in this photo, but he and I have matching manicures. :-)

Kai is a Cerberus Project El and stands 60cm tall. His clothing, jewellery and face-up are all by me.

This photo was taken for the Den of Angels 100 Photography Prompts Challenge: Prompt #1 - Self-Portrait With Doll.

Victory!

2009-10-13T14:42:00.001+01:00

Trafigura and Carter-Ruck backed down shortly before the 2pm High Court hearing and lifted the gagging order; it must have been obvious it was going to be overturned even to them. The overwhelming response from the blogosphere and Twitter must have been a very nasty surprise for them!

Kudos also to the Spectator, which was the only other media outlet to report on the story. And a big thumbs-down to the BBC and Channel 4 who refused to report on it even when directly asked. Even now that reporting restrictions have been lifted, there is NO mention of it on the BBC website. Shame on you, BBC.

It has been revealed that Trafigura were indeed trying to cover up the injunction against reporting in the British press of the Minton report, on the alleged dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast, commissioned by Trafigura. In several incidents, Trafigura dumped thousands of tons of sulphurous coker naptha mixed with caustic soda off Côte d’Ivoire in 2006, with full knowledge as detailed in internal emails that doing so would likely cause thousands of injuries and deaths. The chemical waste came from a ship called Probo Koala and in August 2006 truckload after truckload of it was illegally fly-tipped at 15 locations around Abidjan, the biggest city in Ivory Coast. This led to 16 deaths and 31000 injured.

Trafigura can now thank Carter-Ruck for having ensured that by trying to gag the British press, pretty much the whole world now knows exactly what Trafigura did.

[Edit to add] The BBC finally reported on the lifting of the gag nearly three hours afterwards with a very mealymouthed piece.

Guardian newspaper gagged from reporting Parliament

2009-10-13T00:27:00.001+01:00

London solicitors Carter-Ruck, who specialise in suing the media for clients (who include individuals or global corporations), have actually gagged the Guardian newspaper from reporting Parliamentary proceedings on legal grounds which appear to call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1688 Bill of Rights. It's apparently about the question highlighted in red, which has already been on Newsnight(take a good look at the picture Trafigura are responsible for). The blogger Guido Fawkes also covers it.

Please repost this and spread this widely. Carter-Ruck may have gagged the Guardian (for now), but they cannot silence every voice in the blogosphere.

Why So Sad? [Satin // CP Elf Shiwoo]]

2009-10-07T00:48:00.001+01:00

Why so sad, my pale one?

Is that...

... a tear?

Satin reshelled: CP Elf Chiwoo

2009-09-01T23:02:00.002+01:00

And here he is: Satin reshelled, this time as an Elf Chiwoo. :-)

Face-up progress shots: CP Elf Chiwoo

2009-09-01T22:52:00.003+01:00

The blank Cerberus Project Elf Chiwoo head that arrived this afternoon.

Basic initial blushing.

Defining eyelashes and eyebrows with watercolour pencils.

Further definition with acrylic paints.

Finished face-up, complete with eyelashes and eyes.

3 new rompers

2009-08-22T18:21:00.003+01:00

Currently up for sale on eBay and Etsy, all are for 27cm BJDs such as Bambicrony, Rosen Lied Tuesday's Child, Volks YoSD and Fairyland LittleFee. All are handsewn by me and have the Arkadian Dreams label inside.

Pink & Black rompersuit:
This little romper suit will look very smart on your tinies! The body is 4-way stretch cotton jersey, and the sleeves are black and pink striped cotton jersey. It closes with four plastic snap fasteners up the front, which is adorned with ten tiny (non-functioning) little pink buttons.
Ebay listing

Lemon & Lime rompersuit:
This adorable little romper in yellow, green and white will suit both little boys and little girls! Made of soft plush with white stretch cotton jersey sleeves, this little hand-sewn garment slips on easily, fastening up at the back with stainless steel hooks and eyes.
Ebay listing
Etsy listing

Jolly Roger rompersuit:
This adorable little romper in black with little skull-and-crossbones motifs will suit both little boys and little girls! Made of stretch cotton jersey trimmed with five (non-functional) red buttons, this little hand-sewn garment slips on easily, fastening up at the back with snap fasteners.
Ebay listing
Etsy listing

Arkadian Dreams BJD rings for sale

2009-06-11T01:08:00.003+01:00

Jewellery for BJDs

Contact: Please email me if interested or comment, thank you.

Please note: All items come from a smoke-free home with 2 well-behaved shorthaired cats.

Shipping Info: I ship worldwide.
For UK: I ship all items by Royal Mail First Class Recorded ($2.50) . Additional items can be shipped at no added cost.
Worldwide: I ship all items via Royal Mail International Signed For($5.00); again, additional items can be shipped at no added cost.

Payment Method: I accept Paypal (no fees); CC is fine, but NO e-checks, please.

Feedback: DoA feedback thread Ebay feedback

ITEMS FOR SALE:

Pink Sapphire ring

Shown here on CP girl hand.
Fine (99.9%) silver ring sculpted from PMC and set with a single 2mm brilliant-cut pink sapphire in a bezel setting in the shape of an inverse 6. Ring shank is adjustable for perfect fit. For SD girls. $20.00 plus shipping.

Amethyst Ring

Shown here on CP girl hand.
Fine (99.9%) silver ring sculpted from PMC and set with a single 2mm brilliant-cut African amethyst. Ring shank is adjustable for perfect fit. For SD girls. $20.00 plus shipping.

Ruby ring

Fine (99.9%) silver ring sculpted from PMC and set with a single 2mm brilliant-cut ruby. For 70cm BJDs (shown here on Dollshe Hound). $20.00 plus shipping.

Custom work can also be undertaken upon request; please PM me with details. Note that all rings are hand-sculpted from PMC (precious metal clay) and thus no two rings will be exactly alike.

These rings are also available to buy via my Etsy Shop.

4 doll rings, completed

2009-06-09T15:47:00.000+01:00

Matresca (Cerberus Project Vampire Dark Elf Soo, 60cm tall BJD) modelling three of the finished rings, polished and set with 2mm brilliant-cut stones. From r to l: artificial tanzanite, amethyst, pink sapphire.

Marius (Dollshe Hound, 70cm tall BJD) modelling the ruby ring - fine (99.9%) silver, set with a 2mm round brilliant-cut ruby.

The four silver doll rings, now completed. From left to right: Dollshe size ring set with 2mm ruby, CP girl size ring set with 2mm pink sapphire in a bezel mount, SD girl ring set with 2mm African amethyst, SD girl ring set with 2mm artificial (cz) tanzanite.

WIP: Silver doll rings

2009-06-09T00:25:00.000+01:00

This is what I've been working on for the past couple of days: silver rings for 1/3 scale BJDs. They're sculpted from PMC silver (Art Clay Silver 650 Slow Dry, to be precise, which has a low enough firing temperature that you can fire it on a gas hob). I sculpted them yesterday, and after drying overnight I fired them today. I then polished them up; they are now ready for setting with 1mm gems. The top ring in the picture above has a bezel mount, whereas the lower two have prong mounts.

To give you a clearer idea of just how small these rings are, here is the 4th ring I made - which is for a slightly larger 70cm doll (I hadn't finished polishing this one when I took the photo):

Although these rings aren't quite finished, I'm quite pleased with how they've come out thus far; I think I've definitely improved in skill since I last tried my hand at ring-making for dolls. These four rings will eventually be put up for sale once finished.

Is Mijn Schatje An Art Thief?

2009-06-04T19:22:00.000+01:00

When does art cross the line from homage into theft and deception?

That question has recently elicited an explosion of condemnation from the world of Asian Ball-Jointed Doll aficionados world-wide thanks the the actions of vector "artist", Mijn Schatje (real name Marie Blanco Hendrickx). Schatje has made a name for herself over the past few years as a successful artist who makes a living based off the images she creates. Prints of her work retail for $1700 each, she's made deals with Sony Playstation and Fornarina Clothing, and large-scale statues have been created based on her pictures.

However, what she has not disclosed to these clients and the buyers of her work is that every image in her work is stolen. The beautiful, delicate, elfin wide-eyed "child-like women" in her pictures for which she has drawn so much admiration from the art world are, in fact, traced directly from photographs of dolls; to be precise, BJDs. She has taken images from both owners and companies alike and used them as the basis for her artwork, which is sold in galleries and as iPod skins. This is unfair to the creators of the dolls, for one. These people are responsible for the sculpting, delicate painting, and painstaking photography of these labour-intensive creations. Unlike characters such as Barbie, these dolls are usually made by small teams of artists who work long hours to ensure they make a living. By taking advantage of their photography without permission or credit, Schatje profits from the artwork of others without offering anything in return.

Owner photographs are also significant. These dolls are expensive and designed to be customised; owners can (and do) spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on one doll, not to mention countless hours to alter and eventually photograph these moveable resin sculptures. Mijn Schatje has taken these photos largely without communication to the photographers. When she has done so, she has often asked to "draw" the dolls in question - not incorporate the photos themselves, as the comparison shots indicate. In one case, she requested permission to use a photo as a reference no less than 14 months after she had already used the photo in question for an image that had already been sold to Sony for a Playstation advert; it later transpired that she had stolen no fewer than 7 images from this ne photographer alone.

It is important to differentiate "reference" images and "stolen" images. The overlays show that Schatje did not create images based on specific photos (which in and of itself might be problematic), but actually used these photos directly in her work. Under the vector-based overpainting of her finished pieces, there is someone else's property. This owner - with few exceptions - remains unnamed, and certainly unpaid. Several doll companies have already revealed their dismay that their works are being treated in such a manner, as well as private purchasers of these items.

It is not merely the dolls that have been traced, however; careful investigation by various people on the doll forum Den of Angels revealed that the majority of even the minor images in her work are traced; she has re-used several images repeatedly - sketchwork swallows and a pair of deer are taken from Dover clip art, a lotus blossom stolen from a New Age site, a tiger and a magnolia blossom taken from stock photography, several images stolen from Lisa Frank including hot-air balloons and a pink shoe, and a jellyfish used in her banner image which has been stolen from Scott Thom or Gilbert Williams. She has also made use of a Totoro image from Studio Gibli; it is in the background but instantly recognisable as Totoro. She has not requested permission from Studio Gibli or Disney (who own Totoro rights in the US) for the use of this image.

Lowbrow Art Gallery Kochxbos in Amsterdam is exhibiting/selling all of Mijn Schatje's works at the moment, but having received a large number of emails from concerned BJD fans have stated that they are looking into the allegations.

For further details together with images of the original photos stolen and overlays showing how she has used others' work and claimed it as her own, please see http://www.radiotrash.org/mijn/.

Silversmithing: the art of making Pretty Shiny Things

2009-05-29T22:20:00.001+01:00

I first got into silversmithing years ago, but had to stop when my children came along; hot liquid metals and small children do not mix. However, three years ago I came across PMC - precious metal clay; it comprises of fine particles of precious metal - typically silver, though it is also available as gold - mixed with organic binder. It is moulded and shaped much as you do with modelling clay, left to dry (whereupon you can carve, sand and further smooth into shape) and then fired at 650°C either in a kiln, using a butane torch or on a gas hob, whereupon the organic binder burns off and the metal sinters, leaving a solid metal item. In the case of silver, this item will be fine (0.999) silver, even purer than sterling and thus slower to tarnish.

It occurred to me that PMC silver might be the ideal medium to make BJD jewellery from, and so I experimented to see what I could come up with. The PMC rings are my work; the other rings are for comparison with what BJD jewellery was around and available at the time. Note that I work with facetted gems, whilst orangebabydolly uses cabochons.

From left to right: PMC silver with simulated blue topaz, Dollmore silver ring, orangebabydolly sterling silver ring with garnet, PMC silver with arificial sapphire, PMC silver with simulated amethyst.

Side view, showing the PMC silver with blue topaz ring more clearly.

Two more views of the rings, as modelled by Perseus, my Cerberus Project Breakaway 05 vampire.
Perseus stands 60cm tall, to give you some idea of scale; the rings are 1/3 scale compared to human rings.

I've been asked about whether I'd be willing to take on commissions or open an Etsy shop on the strength of these pieces, so I've now ordered 10g of PMC silver (you'd be surprised how far this stuff goes - those original 3 rings took less than 2g of PMC silver) with a view to making some saleable pieces, which will include rings set with facetted 2mm gemstones in simple 4-prong settings.

Keep watching this space. :-)

Dollmeet - London, April 2009

2009-04-07T15:41:00.004+01:00

Last Sunday I attended a regular monthly dollmeet held at the Royal Festival Hall with my eldest and youngest daughters, plus Marius (Dollshe Hound), Kai (CP El) and Gabrielle (MNF Shiwoo girl). My eldest daughter had brought her doll, Nimue (modded Obitsu Gretel elf on Volks Dollfie Dream 1 body).

Photos from the meet can be seen here.

The Passion of Dolls

2009-04-02T21:07:00.001+01:00

Following on from having encountered a version of the Passion rendered in Playmobil, I'm pondering doing a photoshoot - the Passion as enacted by BJDs.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not. I may not have enough tea towels.

Silver Elegance

2009-03-29T20:19:00.001+01:00

Gabrielle in a new gown, inspired by this portrait of Marie Antoinette at age 14.

Handsewn without a pattern, this is a prototype gown for 1/4 size BJDs.

Blonde Bombshell

2009-02-27T08:28:00.001Z

Following the Lilac Faery photoshoot, I'd left Gabrielle in the Louisiana Blue Eyeco silicone eyes rather than change her back to her "default" green eyes; and yesterday on a whim I decided to try out a blonde wavy CanCan J-series wig on her.

And it actually works pretty well! In fact, she looks pretty stunning as a blonde; the colour suits and complements the colours of her face-up perfectly, and the style of the wig seems to "open up" her face more - it also serves to make her look a little more mature and sassy. This look seems to suit her even better than the redhead look; I think I may well have found her new "default".

Gabrielle in blonde wig, showing off her new red boots. :-)

Emo Boy

2009-02-15T00:50:00.001Z

Neph works the "emo" look.

Partners in Crime

2009-02-15T00:47:00.001Z

Perseus with his Sire, Matresca.

Perseus: Dream King

2009-02-15T00:30:00.001Z

Perseus as Morpheus?

I'm thinking I now need to get a pair of black marbles for eyes and try this look on Marius - he would make a great Morpheus. :-)

Myrrdin in Snow

2009-02-03T15:19:00.001Z

Myrrdin ventures out into the snow, suitably attired for the elements:

Kai in "Pure" for CP Boy

2009-01-26T00:51:00.001Z

Kai models my latest handsewn creation, comprising of 5-pocket white PVC jeans, matching sleeveless white PVC top and white fleece shrug.

Rear view, showing zip-up detail of back and rear pockets on jeans

Obligatory cat-in-shot picture.

Tabs wants to get to know Kai better

"What are you, then?"

Kai and Tabs get acquainted.

Just Because.

2009-01-22T23:09:00.001Z

A new cobweb mesh top, a new silver Capricorn pendant, and a manicure. Click pics for larger versions.

Couldn't decide whether to paint his nails red or black - so went with both. :-)

He seems to approve....

2009-01-21T23:16:00.001Z

Eric seems to be getting on rather well with the new arrival....

Uh oh, I think we're interrupting them...!

Models: Tinies modelling the latest romper suits from Arkadian Dreams

2009-01-18T22:00:00.001Z

On his way!

2009-01-11T01:12:00.001Z

Final payment plus shipping were paid on Friday, and I got an email on Saturday to say he had been dispatched. Kai is on his way home. :-)

Can I just say... SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! :-D

Update: Doll List (current as of Jan 2009)

2009-01-08T07:07:00.001Z

The following is a list of all currently-owned dolls, Incoming list (for dolls ordered but not yet arrived)
and Wish List.

Currently owned:
	Marius Asmodey	WS DollShe Hound V.2 Eldest Asmodey sibling, Sophie's father
	Eric Asmodey	NS CP Shiwoo Middle Asmodey sibling
	Gabrielle Asmodey	NS CP Minifee Shiwoo girl Youngest Asmodey sibling
	Galhaia	NS CP Juri 05/Obitsu hybrid Ruler of the Arkadian Enclave in London; daughter of the King of the Caer Myrrdin Enclave. Sophie's mother.
	Neph	DoC Hoo Another of Galhaia's fosterlings
	Perseus Francois de la Croix	Modded BW CP Vampire Breakaway/AOD hybrid Eric's former boyfriend, currently involved with Aunrae, Galhaia's elven vampire cousin
	Matresca	Modded BW CP Vampire Dark Elf Soo/AOD hybrid Vampire Sire to both Perseus and Aunrae
	Taliesin	Modded Obitsu Haruka Elf boy Court Bard of the Arkadian Enclave; responsible for teaching the children of House Arkadian
	Lucien	Modded NS CP Minifee Shiwoo Vampire Elf A young werewolf
	Emrys	BW Type 1 CP Shiwoo Special Myrddin's twin brother; Emrys is the elder by 7 minutes.
	Myrddin	BW Type 1 CP Dreaming Shiwoo Emrys' twin.
	Sophie	NS Rosen Lied Tuesday's Child Basic Beige Galhaia's half-elven daughter (Marius' secret lovechild)
	Ayame	Obitsu 60cm girl Seraphina's younger sister; Marius' ex-girlfriend


Floating heads:
	Seraphina	Obitsu 60cm girl Ayame's older sister; Court Seer and Healer.

Incoming:
	Kai	CP El Special

Wishing on:
	??	Lilac Bobobie March
	??	Volks Super Dollfie SD10 Kun
	??	Volks YoSD Kun

Bringing home Kai

2009-01-08T05:35:00.002Z

On Friday I'll be making the final layaway payment on Kai (KisakiSama's Kaitou); it feels weird to think that in a couple of weeks or so, I'll be holding in my hands the very first BJD I ever saw, on the fourth anniversary of the day I saw him and first got into the whole BJD scene. If I hadn't seen his photo on wtf_inc, of all places, I might never have gotten into this whole hobby. I wouldn't have 14 dolls (soon to be 15!); I wouldn't have an Etsy shop (from which I've made my first sale), I would never have created the obitsulovers community on LJ, and Arkadian Dreams wouldn't even exist.

Can't begin to describe how I feel right now. "Excited" doesn't even come close!

This is a dream come true. I am so looking forward to Kai's homecoming.

I think Eric is too. ;-)

In other news, I've now switched the blog over to Blogspot where it will be found from now on. This will not affect those of you who read the LJ, but those who read the blog should update RSS readers and bookmarks accordingly.

Arkadian Dreams blog and Etsy shop

2009-01-03T03:19:00.000Z

Apologies to anyone who has the Arkadian Dreams blog by RSS feed and who may have just been flooded with past entries - I had some security issues a while back due to a PHP vulnerability hack, and stopped using the blog for a while until they were resolved - and afterwards forgot to go back to posting there again.

I've since discovered that Semagic has the facility to post to multiple journals at once - including cross-platform, which means I can post to LiveJournal and Blogger simultaneously.

So I've been doing a little "catch-up" blogging this evening to bring it up to date; from now on content will be posted to both the LJ and blog simultaneously.

The other piece of news concerns Etsy; I have now set up an Arkadian Dreams Etsy shop, which will be opening shortly!

Dressmaking

2009-01-02T01:14:00.001Z

Gabrielle has been playing clotheshorse for me; first there was her Christmas dress:

And now my latest creation I've been working on - "Lilac Faery":

Gabrielle's normal default eyes and hair didn't really suit the colours of this outfit, so I swapped out her green glass eyes for a pair of blue Eyeco silicone eyes, and her wine-coloured wig for this white one.

Handsewn over 2 days, the dress is inspired by the Lilac Fairy character in the ballet "Sleeping Beauty". The dress consists of a long tulle skirt overlaid with three layers of lilac crystal organza lace spangled with rhinestones; the front panel of the bodice is lavender satin and purple velvet, trimmed with white and gold cotton lace. The front ruffles are white chiffon trimmed with lilac silk ribbon, and the sleeve ruffles are lilac crystal organza.

The outfit will be completed with a pair of shimmery gold stockings, matching undies, a ribbon lace headdress, and a purple organza choker - and, if I can pull it off, purple velvet ballet pumps. I'm hopeful it will be finished in time to go on sale this weekend.

Gabrielle at Christmas

2008-12-24T23:12:00.000Z

Gabrielle wishes you all a very Merry Christmas on behalf of all here at Arkadian Dreams. :-)

Up now on eBay; BW CP Kid Delf Elf Ttori boy (free shipping worldwide)

2008-10-23T15:00:00.000+01:00

Further to my last post, I have now put my BW CP Kid Delf Elf Ttori boy up for sale on eBay. Click here for the auction listing. The auction finishes on 27th October at 15:12 GMT, but you can buy him now for the BIN price of £5 (that's currently $382) with free shipping worldwide. Which is a saving of $18 on the original price of $400 I was asking originally both here and on DoA. ;-)

Click here for DoA sales thread or here for the eBay listing with more pictures, including naked body pictures and full terms and conditions of sale.

FS; KD Elf Ttori boy, Nanuri 07 head

2008-10-15T14:58:00.000+01:00

For sale is my BW Cerberus Project Kid Delf Elf Ttori boy. He is on the original Kid Delf boy body and is no longer produced. He is in excellent condition with minimal yellowing; he is from the "beauty green" era. He will comes with the Monique Gold "Ginger" wig in black shown here, SoulDoll Premium acrylic eyes, light blue velvet tunic, white DollHeart jeans and purple shoes as shown here. He has a custom face-up done by me in Inscribe and I Kan Dee pastels, sealed with Testors Dullkote. I have pierced his right ear twice, and he will come with the sterling silver hoop earrings shown. He is otherwise unmodded and is in excellent condition.

Asking price: $400 + shipping (worldwide)
DoA sales thread

Also up for sale is my BW Cerberus Project Nanuri 07. I have opened his eyes slightly and given him a custom face-up with Inscribe and I Kan Dee pastels, sealed with MSC. He will come with the olive glass eyes and Monique Gold Jojo wig in Auburn and Strawberry Blond as shown in the photo.

Asking price: $150 + shipping (worldwide)
DoA sales thread

Please PM me on DoA or comment below if interested.

Vita Ersatz: Underwear Ads

2008-09-28T16:20:00.000+01:00

Matresca in an Arkadian Dreams corset

Making a name

2008-09-15T11:42:00.000+01:00

It seems I'm making something of a name for myself in the doll world for my handsewn outfits; I put up the latest outfit for sale on ebay last night, and before I had a chance to spam it everywhere like I usually do with my auctions, it's been snapped up by a US buyer for the Buy It Now price of £40! It had one watcher and about 30 hits on the auction within an hour of my posting it last night, and this morning I came down to find it had sold overnight. I'm just waiting for the payment to hit my PayPal account before shipping it out.

It's very cheering that my hobby is starting to pay for itself like this. I'm also rather glad that I'd already started work on the next couple of outfits - I finished the blue corset last night, and the black and gold Chinese brocade corset just needs a final row of topstitching. Most of the work in these outfits is the corset, followed by the skirt. If I can keep up this momentum, I should have another two complete outfits up for sale by the end of this week. I think it's time I started looking into woven labels with the "Arkadian Dreams" name on for my outfits. :-)

So, yes; a nice start to my week!

"Sugar Plum Fairy" for MNF and other slim minis on ebay

2008-09-04T19:07:00.000+01:00

presents

"Sugar Plum Fairy" for slim MSD

Modelled on Gabrielle [Minifee Shiwoo girl]

A 5-piece set for 1/4 scale slim BJDs, designed and handsewn by Arkady Rose of Arkadian Dreams

"Sugar Plum Fairy" is an outfit inspired by the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The corset is lavender silk, with a cream cotton front panel printed with a fine gold branching leaf pattern; it is trimmed with white and gold lace, lined with ivory Thai silk, and embellished with a cream crystal organza rose.

The skirt comprises of three rows of organza ribbon ruffles, trimmed with lilac silk and finished off with a layer of white and iridescent cotton lace; it is elasticated for a good fit on smaller minis.

The outfit also includes a pair of white lycra shorts, lilac headband and a purple organza choker embellished with a rhinestone gem.

All items except hairband are handsewn. This outfit was made in a smoke-free home.

Please note that doll, wig, earrings and shoes are not included in this auction. This sale is for corset, skirt, leggings, choker and hairband only.

Close-up of corset front

Rear view

This truly one-of-a-kind outfit will fit CP Minifee girls, AOD and DZ 1/4 girls and other similarly-sized slim 45cm BJDs. Shipping is free world-wide.

Ebay Auction

Sneak preview

2008-09-03T01:48:00.000+01:00

A sneak preview of the finished corset for the set I'm working on for my next eBay auction. It's for MNF girls, but should also fit DZ/AOD and other similar-sized minis.

The outfit is inspired by the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The corset is lavender silk, with a cream cotton front panel printed with a fine gold branching leaf pattern; it is trimmed with white and gold lace, lined with ivory Thai silk, and embellished with a cream crystal organza rose.

Vita Ersatz; Shadow-dwellers

2008-08-31T12:14:00.000+01:00

Two older ones of Perseus I'm fond of and a new one of my smallest shadow-dweller. :-)

A real Wild Child. ;-)

2008-08-30T21:32:00.000+01:00

And finally, my little werewolf boy - who seems to be pretty adamant that he's a Lucien. :-)

Lycanthropes are sexy.

Don't deny it. ;-)

The daring hunter and the fearsome tiger!

Very daring. But also very small.

I don't think the cat is impressed....

In his element.

A fresh look at Neph

2008-08-30T21:15:00.000+01:00

Gabrielle isn't the only one who got the beauty-spa treatment today; Neph finally got a new face-up. He was my first resin BJD over 4 years ago, and the only one who had a company default face-up. The face-up has faded and chipped slightly over the years, so I decided it was time to redo him. I still wanted him to look like Neph though, so I kept pretty close to his original look.

But what I had never realised, is that the Dream Of Doll Hoo actually has teeth! I'd never seen a close-up of a Hoo's mouth with the teeth showing, and in the default face-up they're just airbrushed over - so if I hadn't wiped his default face-up, I would probably never have known!

Anyway, I picked out Neph's teeth delicately with white acrylic, so now if you look at just the right angle, you can see them. :-)

Look! TEETH!

Ickle teeth!

Gabrielle's new face-up

2008-08-30T21:04:00.000+01:00

It's like having a whole new doll. :-)

Goodbye Xavier, hello Gabrielle!

2008-08-29T23:09:00.000+01:00

The fun thing about the one-touch system used by Luts and Fairyland is that you can swap heads.

Like this:

In the process I found that Luspira makes a very effective little werewolf boy (pay no heed to the gold lame trousers; they're for a commission) - and Xavier makes a very cute little girl! So Luspira has now become Lupin (still tempted by the thought of calling him Lucien, though that's the "real" name of 's Hound, Corpselight...), and Xavier has become Gabrielle - and much happier they both seem to be as a result!

Anyway, having a pretty little girl to sew for (and three hours with no internet last night!) inspired me to complete this little outfit up for her - corset is dusky pink raw Thai silk, lined with pink satin and topstitched in silver. Skirt is actually a tutu, with underpants of burgundy cotton jersey and ruffles of burgundy organza, with a top layer of organza trimmed with dark rose satin ribbon.

Her over-the-knee socks were also handstitched by me, and I made the necklace too. Shoes are from Luts. :-)

When the weather isn't quite so humid, I'll be redoing her face-up to give her a softer, more feminine look. :-)

"Aurora" for SD/CP/AOD 1/3 girls

2008-08-20T13:03:00.000+01:00

Up for sale now on eBay:

"Aurora" for SD/CP/AOD girls

A OOAK handsewn creation from Arkadian Dreams

A 5-piece set for 1/3 sale BJDs, designed and handsewn by Arkady Rose of Arkadian Dreams

"Aurora" comprises of the following:

Pink taffetta corset, lined in pale pink silk, laced with pale pink silk ribbon through stainless steel loops. Front panels are overlaid with pink crystal organza.
Pink taffetta skirt lined with pale pink silk and trimmed with pink crystal organza ruffles and white cotton lace. The rear of the skirt is decorated with pink crystal organza bustle topped with a pink silk bow.
Pink crystal organza puffed sleeves trimmed in white cotton lace.
White cotton lace choker decorated with a white rhinestone gem.

Ebay auction

Faux Fer

2008-08-02T23:13:00.000+01:00

Inspired by the Dollhert Fer design but to my own pattern. Myrddin very kindly agreed to model for me. :-)

Mostly testing how well the design works; this prototype is handstitched from cotton jersey, but next I'm planning a version in burgundy silk with gold-trimmed organza ruffles, and another in black velvet with silver-trimmed black organza ruffles. It zips up the back with a very small zip fastener. The prototype is designed specifically for the CP boy body, but it would be simple enough to make versions to fit a girl body. It would also be very easy to scale down the pattern for 45cm dolls too.

The strips forming the ruffles are 2" wide, and if laid end-to-end would measure about 25m!

Red Hair

2008-08-02T02:05:00.000+01:00

Title: Red Hair
Rating: G
Dolls: Eric (CP Shiwoo), Xavier (MNF Shiwoo), Sophie (RL Beige), Galhaia (CP Juri05), Taliesin (Obitsu Haruka elf), ?

Author's Notes: This is an entry originally written for the LJ community "bjd_30minfic", where the purpose is to write a short fic concerning your doll character(s) in only 30 minutes, with a theme set each week. This week the theme was "Twist". Not only was this my first entry in the community, but it was also the first time I'd ever written a fic about them of any length. I've rewritten Rps into storyform before, but writing a fic from scratch is rather different - particularly when trying to write it in only 30 minutes! The response I've had to it thus far has been positive and encouraging, so I thought I would repost it here so it could be enjoyed by a wider audience. Who knows - I might start writing more, longer fics about my characters. :-)

"Boys!"

Eric and Xavier looked up curiously as Galhaia walked slowly towards them, holding the hand of a small girl who hid slightly behind the elven woman's long velvet skirt. Eric straightened and bowed politely as she paused. The little girl eyed him warily, her eyes incredibly bright blue beneath her dark red hair. Eric smiled at her reassuringly, but she shrank back nervously. He sighed quietly and strightened, one hand involuntarily rising to the scars that marred his right eye; he knew all too well that children were often frightened by sight of them.

Xavier was oblivious to his older brother's discomfort as he grinned up at Galhaia. "Eric's showing me how to fix the chain on my bike!" he said proudly. Catching sight of the little girl, his eyes widened. "Ooh, look, Eric! She's got red hair too!"

Eric laid a warning hand on his little brother's shoulder. "What did we say about manners, Xav?" he prompted gently. The younger boy blushed.

"Sorry, my Lady," he apologised and sketched a hasty and unpracticed bow, his young face red.

Galhaia laughed. "It is all right, Xavier; we are all friends here! Ah, but wait, you do not know little Sophie here, do you?" She encouraged the little girl forward. "Eric, Xavier, this is Sophie. My daughter."

"Your... daughter?" Eric frowned a little in confusion. "You mean, like Alaric and Neph - she's your foster daughter?"

"Nay, Sophie is of my blood, though she takes after her father more in looks," replied Galhaia smiling, as she knelt down and enouraged the little girl to step forward. "Sophie, this is Eric, and this is Xavier. They are your -" She broke off suddenly as she espied Taliesin, the Court Bard, making his way across the manicured lawn towards the house. "Oh, there is Taliesin - I've been looking for him; Eric, would you and Xavier please watch Sophie for me?" Without waiting for an answer she straightened and hastened across the grass to intercept the lavender-haired elf whose nose was deep in a book. She took his elbow and steered him swiftly off towards the arbour and away from the two boys and the little girl.

"We are her what?" wondered Xavier. Eric's answer was merely a groan as he knelt down on one knee to be closer to Sophie's height.

"Just look at her, Xav. Look at her hair. Who does she remind you of?" He held his hand out to the child. "It's OK. Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." He smiled gently.

"Like us," replied Xavier. "You mean... she...?"

"Just like us." Eric groaned. "Our father did it again. Just how many of us are there? How many of his progeny - how many more Asmodeys, sired here and there? How many more halfbreeds?"

"But Galhaia said Sophie is hers," pointed out Xavier, giving Sophie a reassuring smile. "Isn't that right? She's your mummy, isn't she, Sophie?"

The little girl regarded Xavier solemnly, then nodded her head. "Yes. She's my mummy. And that's my daddy!!" she added with a joyful shriek before running towards the tall figure who had just come out of the house and was walking towards them. "Daddyyyyyy!" she yelled happily as he swept her up into his arms with a cheerful grin, never breaking his stride as he carried on towards the two brothers, who straightened up, faces blank with shock.

It was Eric who found his voice first.

"Marius??"

Tinies and Dollshes - the Rule

2008-07-25T20:40:00.000+01:00

When tinies meet a Dollshe boy for the first time, the Dollshe nose must be honked.

Proof:

Hound with Banji

Hound with Rosen Lied Beige

Any questions? ;-)

Fatherhood

2008-07-24T18:03:00.000+01:00

Marius recently discovered he was a father; and newfound fatherhood appears to agree with him!

Introducing Sophie

2008-07-23T00:19:00.000+01:00

It suddenly occurred to me that of all the places I've been spamming Sophie, my little Rosen Lied Tuesday's Child Basic Beige, I'd forgotten to post her here! Most remiss of me. So let me introduce you to her - my smallest doll, at only 27cm!

Face-up: Me
Yellow dress: RL Beige default outfit
Pink dress, lace-topped socks: Handsewn by me
Shoes: Mimiwoo
Wig: Can-can J-Series 6" SP10a in Wine (styled and trimmed by me)
Chair: Vintage 80s Hasbro Sindy armchair from personal collection
Bear: Clinton Cards

In the Garden III: Luspira

2008-07-06T17:29:00.000+01:00

In the Garden II: Taliesin

2008-07-06T17:14:00.000+01:00

In the Garden I: The Twins

2008-07-06T17:08:00.000+01:00

Photography: Gel Filters

2008-06-15T00:09:00.002+01:00

Sam dropped by yesterday, having been to a theatre tech expo recently, and gave me a swatch of Lee gel filter samples to play with. Gels are usually used for lighting effects, but I decided to play around with the camera to see what effects I could get.

The following were all shot on a Canon Ixus 400. All photos were taken indoors on Cloudy setting with Macro, no overhead artificial light. No photomanipulation apart from rotating 90° CW and resizing to 600x800.

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #052 Light Lavender
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #793 Vanity Fair
Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #720 Durham Daylight Frost
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Scrim Filter #270
Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #075 Evening Blue
Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #410 Opal Frost
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #228 Brushed Silk
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #004 Medium Bastard Amber (yes, it really is called that!!)
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #207 C.T. Orange +.3
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

Filter: Lee Gel Filter #156 Chocolate
Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
ISO: 400

I think I shall be mounting these gels in card frames to make it easier to mount them in some form of lens cap to fix over the front of the camera lens. I think I'm going to have lots of fun experimenting with these!

London MCM Expo, ExCel, Sunday 25th May 2008

2008-05-25T21:56:00.000+01:00

London MCM Expo, ExCel, Saturday 24th May 2008

2008-05-25T21:54:00.001+01:00

Shiwoo Crew!

2008-05-17T19:30:00.001+01:00

Water: Myrddin

2008-05-17T19:29:00.001+01:00

Fire: Emrys

2008-05-17T19:12:00.002+01:00

Introducing Emrys and Myrddin

2008-05-16T19:21:00.003+01:00

A while ago, zagzagael decided reluctantly to sell her BW type 1 Shiwoo Special (perhaps better known as the Frost Twins).

I can now reveal that I was the buyer; and today a certain package arrived - so please welcome Emrys!

He doesn't have a face-up yet, as his arrival coincided with a decidedly damp turn in the weather - but hopefully conditions will improve enough soon so I can get to work!

Of course, Emrys being a Shiwoo Special, that means he came with two heads - the normal open-eyed head above, and a dreaming head - who is Emrys' twin brother, Myrddin:

Marius in Epping Forest

2008-03-29T19:28:00.002Z

Match It For Pratchett

2008-03-17T01:27:00.003Z

I have another auction up on eBay at present; but this one's an auction with a slight difference.

For one, it's nothing doll-related. And for two, I'm donating 20% of the final sale proceeds to the Alzheimer's Research Trust for "Match It For Pratchett".

The premise behind "Match It For Pratchett" is simple; Terry Pratchett has donated £500,000 ($1million) of his own money to the Alzheimer's Research Trust to help fund research into Alzheimer's. We, the fans, match it - if 500,000 fans pledge just £1 each, we can equal his donation.

Funding for Alzheimer's research in this country is ridiculously poor; only 3% of that for cancer research, and yet there are nearly as many sufferers of Alzheimer's as there are for cancer - and it is estimated that the number of people with Alzheimer's will double within a generation. The Alzheimer's Research Trust currently has to turn down two out of every three applications for research grants; up to now, only £11 is spent on UK research into Alzheimer's for every person affected by the disease, compared with £289 for cancer patients.

Alzheimer's research is a matter that is particularly close to my heart, as the shadow of Alzheimer's is something I face in my own future. Both my maternal grandparents suffered from Alzheimer's, and my paternal grandmother is struggling with it now. Research has shown there is a genetic component to Alzheimer's, and I am well aware that at some point in the future I, too, may well develop Alzheimer's.

So by donating 20% of the proceeds of the sale of this violin to the Alzheimer's Research Trust I am, in a very real sense, making an investment for the future - mine, as well as Terry Pratchett's. Please consider making a donation or bidding on this auction, or pass on the link. Every little helps.

Galhaia in the Garden

2008-02-23T17:23:00.003Z

I took advantage of dry weather outside to get photos of Galhaia with her new face-up today; I also decided to try her head on Nimue's Obitsu body, as I'm not too happy with the lack of posability of the Dollfie Dream body. I find I actually prefer Galhaia on the Obitsu body, so I suspect the swap may be a permanent arrangement until I can afford a resin body!

Who guards whom?

2008-02-23T02:47:00.001Z

Luspira and her guardian, Satin.
Or should that be the other way around?

Satin: BW CP Nanuri 07

2008-02-23T01:15:00.000Z

So, it was time for Satin - Luspira's blind guardian - to get his mods and face-up today, in addintion to Galhaia's new face-up!

Eyes opened a little wider using Dremel and fine sandpaper.

Basic yebrow shape blocked in with Inscribe pastel using a sponge applicator; basic lip blushing added with a round filbert brush. You can see his little fangs very clearly here. :-)

Eyebrows shaped using watercolour pencil; liplines added in pale pink watercolour pencil. Light blushing round eyes, nose and on lips using Inscribe chalk pastels.

Lower eyelashes and eyeliner defined with watercolour pencil; further blushing round eyes and on lips with I Kan Dee iridescent chalk pastels.

White watercolour pencil gives further definition to eyebrows and is used to add lighter liplines.

The fangs are picked out with white acrylic paint, and Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium applied to top eyelids before a coat of gloss varnish is applied to eyelids and lips.

Light brown eyelashes complete the face-up.

So here he is complete, with 16mm glass "blind" olive eyes and a Monique wig in platinum blonde - that won't be his default wig and eys however, as I have a Monique joJo wig in Strawberry Blonde and Auburn on the way, and eventually he will have 17mm Masterpiece Eclipses. I will be ordering his Fantasy Doll body in a couple of weeks' time.

Galhaia: Updating her look

2008-02-23T00:51:00.000Z

Galhaia has had the same look since I first got her over two years ago, and her face-up was starting to get a little chipped in places - so it was time for a complete new look!

Basic eyebrow shape blocked in with Inscribe chalk pastels using a sponge applicator; pastl blushing on lips and lip lines added in dark red Graphitint pencil. Sealed with Testor's Dullcote between each stage.

Definition added to eyebrows with watercolour pencil; further light blushing around eyes with pink and purple pastel. Further lip lines added with watercolour pencil.

Further shaping with darker watercolour pencils; eyes lined with watercolour pencil and lower lashes drawn on.

White watercolour pencil on eyebrows and lower lashes to add further definition. Beauty spot added with dark brown watercolour pencil. Fine white liplines added with watercolour pencil.

Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium applied to lips and top eyelids; lips and eyelids glossed.

And here's the finished result!

A few changes

2008-02-21T23:45:00.003Z

If you've reached this blog via the "arkadiandreams LJ" button on the Arkadian Dreams website, you might be wondering what's going on.

The arkadiandreams LJ is still online; it hasn't been deleted. However following recent developments with regards to LJ and SixApart (including, but not limited to, the flagging journals issue and the sale of LJ), I decided that I'd prefer to have the arkadiandreams journal more directly under my control - so from now on news and events from Arkadian Dreams (including photoshoots etc) will be posted primarily here on the Arkadian Dreams blog and mirrored over on the LJ.

The other change you might have noticed on the site is the appearance of Google ads. I've endeavoured to make these as unobtrusive as possible however, so I hope they won't prove too annoying to regular visitors. :-)

In other news, the Juri B head is still available for sale, and I've just started customising a BW CP Nanuri 07 head to be Kynaston "Satin" Dane, Luspira's guardian - and a figure from Eric's mysterious past!

Also up for a new face-up is Galhaia, my Juri 05 girl. Expect progress pics of both Galhaia and Satin soon!

At last!

2008-02-18T21:04:00.000Z

So, the Luts parcel finally arrived today; I think we must have been the last address on the delivery guy's round!

Well worth the wait though - Luspira finally has her body; my little werewolf girl is complete!

Xavier's not entirely sure what to make of her....

Two Minifee Shiwoos together surely spells trouble...!

Yes, she really is standing on one leg.

FS: Blank CP BW Juri B - free shipping in UK!

2008-02-18T20:50:00.000Z

Just received this head today and it's just not right for the character I had in mind. Unmodded, never been painted - literally only taken out of the wrapping for these photos.

Asking price is $120; free shipping to UK buyers, international shipping by Royal Mail Airsure $20. Payment by PayPal or Google Checkout only please!

Ebay feedback here, DoA feedback here. Please feel free to ask any questions!

Hex top

2008-02-02T22:47:00.000Z

Something I've been working on this evening. I've got enough fabric to do another 7 of these tops in varying sizes; I'm thinking of doing maybe another 2 SD-size, 3 mini-size and 2 Hound-size for eBay. (Eric's keeping this first one!)

Current doll list

2008-01-31T17:03:00.000Z

Currently owned:
	Marius Asmodey	WS DollShe Hound V.2 Eldest Asmodey brother
	Eric Asmodey	NS CP Shiwoo Middle Asmodey brother
	Xavier Asmodey	NS CP Minifee Shiwoo Youngest Asmodey brother
	Lysande	Modded BW CP Vampire Elf Yder
	Alaric	BW CP Kid Delf Ttori Elf boy Lysande's little brother
	Galhaia	NS CP Juri 05/DD1 hybrid Alaric's foster mother and ruler of the Arkadian Enclave in London; daughter of the King of the Caer Myrrdin Enclave.
	Neph	DoC Hoo Another of Galhaia's fosterlings
	Perseus Francois de la Croix	Modded BW CP Vampire Breakaway/AOD hybrid Eric's boyfriend
	Matresca	Modded BW CP Vampire Dark Elf Soo/AOD hybrid Vampire Sire to both Perseus and Lysande
	Taliesin	Modded Obitsu Haruka Elf boy Court Bard of the Arkadian Enclave; responsible for teaching the children of House Arkadian
	Nimue	Modded Obitsu Gretel Elf Taliesin's sister
	Miyobi	RML K-02/DollZone 1/4 hybrid An Alichino (vampiric demon) that has become attracted to Xavier; she takes the form of a young girl but is actually quite ancient
	Luspira	Modded NS CP Minifee Shiwoo Vampire Elf A young werewolf girl; Satin's "eyes" and protector (waiting on body)
	Seraphina	Obitsu 60cm girl Galhaia's friend and Court Healer
	Ayame	Obitsu 60cm girl Seraphina's younger sister; Marius' ex-girlfriend (currently minus a body)

Working on:
	Kynaston "Satin" Dane	BW CP Nanuri07/Fantasy Doll hybrid Eric's former schoolmate and Luspira's guardian

Wishing on:
	??	BW Minimee boy
	??	FCS Snowskin F17 SD13 longlegged boy
	??	FCS Snowskin F22 (Kun) SD13 girl

So that's 15 dolls here, one on the way, and three on the wishlist!

A quiet moment

2008-01-27T22:05:00.001Z

Alaric and Lysande enjoy a little quiet time together:

Commission: Arien (CP Elf Ttori/Bobobie Sprite hybrid)

2008-01-27T20:27:00.000Z

Introducing Arien, a CP Kid Delf Elf Ttori girl with a Bobobie Sprite body belonging to redcountess:

Alaric

2008-01-27T20:23:00.000Z

Continuing with the face-up updating, this weekend it was Alaric's turn:

Resin comparison - AOD whiteskin 07 vs 08

2008-01-25T17:35:00.000Z

Comparisons between Matresca's 2007 AOD 1/3 girl white body and Perseus' 2008 AOD 1/3 boy white body:

As you can see, Matresca's body is a good match for CP BW resin, but Perseus' body is slightly pinker. So it looks like AOD resin can have as much variation in colour from batch to batch as CP resin.

Perseus tends to wear clothing covering him completely apart from hands and head, so the colour difference doesn't matter so much - but I think at some point I will try blushing this body to see if I can make it match better.

Perseus 2.0?

2008-01-24T22:20:00.001Z

Perseus got his new Angel of Dreams 1/3 boy body today....

Lysande is relieved Perseus isn't demanding his body back!

Matresca seems to approve too, as she gloats over her "Children"....

So Perseus has his new body and there's one less floating head! Except... the white skin doesn't actually match his resin. It's too pink - it's a different shade to Matresca, despite the fact I only got her AOD body a couple of months ago.

It's not a complete disaster though; the spare Yder hands that came with Lysande's head do fit on the AOD body (which is just as well, because I'm not too keen on the default AOD hands - pointy index finger o' doom!!), and Perseus usually wears a cravat anyway so the AOD body is pretty much covered up by clothing.

And the AOD boy body is pretty buff! Impressive chest, rivals a Hound in the package dept, and is taller than CP bodies - so Perseus is now second only to Marius in height! Oh, and the AOD body is wonderfully poseable, too.

So, overall I'm quite happy about it - annoying about the resin match though. However, we shall see what a little blushing will do....