I have spent years admiring the Ball Jointed Dolls ( BJD’S ) that people have been showing on the various photo sites, like Flickr etc.
Many a time I considered dipping my doll collecting toe into that pond but there was always a Sasha or a piece of furniture for the Sasha I wanted/needed to buy. Then over the last few years I have started to add other dolls to my collection, Zwergnase, Heather Maciak, Wichtel’s , Schoenhut to name but a few !
But I have continued to go back and look at these bjd’s. My friend Sharon brought a few of her dolls over to the Chat n Snap I run annually in October which gave me a chance to see some up close and I was very smitten but Sasha was still Queen of the purse strings!
However I now have most , if not all, of the Sasha’s I want and only buy on the odd occasion if one comes along and takes my fancy. So I have been able to look elsewhere!
In truth , although I never think of her as a BJD but she is , I have in fact owned one for a long while Elfine!
She was one I could not resist , she is an Elf ! beneath those purple locks she sports her elfin ears. She calls to the story teller in me and also the lover of fairies , elves , magic and mystery plus medieval , castles etc.
She is by Kaye Wiggs.
But I never think of her as a bjd, which of course she is! and so now she’s come to mind as I write this post , her human counterpart of course should appear to!
This is Faith another Kaye Wiggs doll but with human ears, she was the first face style of Kaye Wiggs dolls I fell in love with but Elfine with her Elf ears was the one I found and purchased first. But I was lucky to find a friend selling this girl a year back and collected her at the Sasha Celebration Weekend.
At that weekend were a couple of friends who have been into the bjd scene for many years, so I was able to see another bjd Kaye Wiggs girl this time a Faun.
Then this year I asked them to bring along more of their BJD’s so that I could see them. Well that was me done for really ! I just loved the feel and weight of them and the size! Bigger than I thought in one case but the posing they could do and so real looking! They immediately connected with my imagination and I could see their’ story’.
And so finally I have had the chance to begin a collection of these dolls! and like most things I collect I throw myself in !
First I bought some heads, that although I was not keen on the paint work of their faces They were being sold at a good price, so I jumped in and bought two then later went back and bought another two!
This is one of the heads made by DollsTown dolls but painted by the owner.
For me the colours are too unnatural, so I have cleaned the paint work off and will try to do a more natural job.
Then a doll came up for sale and I thought about it, asked my expert friend about it, then made an offer which was accepted!
I did not like the wig on her but her face was painted by a good face up artist, so I took the plunge and got her.
I changed her wig but she is still a work in progress ,meaning I will try a few other styles of wig until I decide which one is her! She is a Dollstown Amy on a 13 year old body, that means her body is made to resemble that of a thirteen year old girl.
Then Paul kindly bought me a Dollstown 7 year old body to use with my DT heads. So while waiting for that to arrive I came across another bjd that I liked the look of.
This one was made by Maskcat bjd dolls and is their face style called Margo.
Again I made an offer which was I am pleased to say was accepted and so she came this week. She’s slightly smaller than the DT Amy which is nice.
I decided to try her in the wig that Amy came with and I’m pleased to say I really like it on her.
I think it really suits her, so this will probably be her look. She’s wearing a Sasha outfit by Petrana but it’s a little to small for her but looks ok for now. I’m still working on a name for her, a few have come to mind but I need to see her for a while and see what fits.
So she needs an outfit and some shoes, another avenue to learn about!
Finally after a lot of waiting my 7 year old DT dolls body arrived and although I have not painted the faces yet, I of course just had to put a head on the body, dress it , wig it and take a photo.
So here it is, I just need to make a good job of the painting and then she can have some eyes and then I can decided if this is the right look for her. This head which is called Hannah by the makers , will be on a doll called Morwenna by me, well that is unless her whole character changes once she’s found her look!
Well that’s the story so far! I will share my doll face up efforts once I actually start! and you can be my critic’s!
Now I really need to sort out my Sasha Studio so I have somewhere to keep all these extra dolls and their furniture……
