Bobobie Lan in A Sensible Notion

Lan in A Sensible Notion, originally uploaded by alington.

This is Bobobie Lan (with a face-up by Leah Lilly) dressed in an outfit from the Gowns by Anne Harper collection by Tonner Doll Company called "A Sensible Notion." The outfit includes a wig, sized for wigged Tyler Wentworth fashion dolls (16" tall), and just barely fits Lan (and stays on well with the large bonnet). It would work even better if I put velcro on the top of Lan's head cap, and it's a cute historical wig.

The shoes with this outfit are adorable, but of course are too small for Lan, since they are sized for Tyler. Lan can wear shoes from the larger American Model line of Tonner Dolls (the 22" dolls).

Notice the detail on the cotton dress--the lace at the hem and the trim on the neckline, plus the embroidery on the shawl. It's very well-made, with lots of attention to detail, and really well-scaled items. Lan looks like she stepped off the set of "Sense and Sensibility."

I love it! Two thumbs up for this outfit, too.

See more photos on Flickr.

Meet Espree

Happy Holidays, everyone! Just popping in to wish everyone that, and to share some pics of my newest doll, Espree by Bobobie who is finally ready to make her debut. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any holiday finery yet, maybe next year. ;-)

Her face up is by Leah Lilly of Froggy Duds, her wardrobe is sewn by yours truly, and wigs by Monique Gold. I have no idea about her eyes, but she does need some better fitting ones.

 She's on an immature MSD body, so she's a youngster. If there is anything else you want to know, please ask!

Bobobie Lan as the Duchess of Devonshire

Allow me to present Lan, a BJD by Bobobie, to you. As you may recognize, she is approximately the same size as Tyler Wentworth by Tonner Doll, though her measurements are closer to Antoinette's.

Here, she is dressed as Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. She's wearing Court Gown, Elizabeth Swann's outfit, from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection by Tonner Doll.

Her wig actually belongs to one of my daughter's dolls, and we picked it up at a doll show from Bearzabout. It's called Angelic Romance in Golden Fire, and I pinned it up in the back and added a bird from Michaels. (I need to find a ship!)

More photos on Flickr, including close-ups and full-length shots, for the interested.

A note on Bobobie MSD dolls: The only ones I know for sure can fit Tonner Tyler/Antoinette clothes are Lan, Fei, Mei and Ju. Lan is the only one without elf ears.

Lan in Sinuous

Lan in Sinuous, originally uploaded by alington.

Meet my normal skin MSD Bobobie Lan with a face-up by Leah Lilly of Froggy Duds. The wig is a 5/6 Yuri wig by Monique Gold.

She's wearing a dress, necklace and headpiece by Tonner Doll Company designed for Antoinette, called Sinuous. It's a perfect fit. (Lan can wear most outfits made for the Tyler Wentworth body, but she is an even better fit for Antoinette's outfits.) Shoes are also by Tonner, for their 22" American Model dolls.

See more photos of Sinuous Lan in my Flickr photostream.

Lan after face-up

Lan after face-up, originally uploaded by alington.

My Bobobie Lan has returned after a wonderful face-up by Leah Lilly from Froggy Duds. I have to say--I am so impressed!

I liked Lan before--both for her affordability and size--but now, she's just amazingly gorgeous. She came out even better than I was expecting. I'm so happy with her!

See more photos in my Flickr photostream.

Lan in Frivolous

Lan in Frivolous, originally uploaded by alington.

It turns out my slim MSD Lan BJD (by Bobobie), who can share clothes with Tyler Wentworth, actually shares clothes even better with Antoinette. She's slimmer than Tyler, so this outfit, Frivolous, designed for the 2009 Antoinette collection (Tonner Doll Company), fits perfectly.

Shoes are a bit snug--they are for an American Model--but they do just fine. Her wig is Faith by Monique Gold.

You can see the rest of this shoot on my Flickr photostream.

Lan in Tyler Wentworth

Lan in Tyler Wentworth, originally uploaded by alington.

Here's my blushed Bobobie Lan, a 16" resin BJD, dressed in Tyler Wentworth's 10th Anniversary outfit (by Tonner Doll Company). I recently discovered that these dolls can share clothes with Tyler. As you can see from this photo (and the others in this set), they fit pretty well. They are just a little big in the bust and hips, but it's not really bad. (I'll try another set with Antoinette clothes later.)

Lan is wearing shoes for a Tonner 22" American Model. They are a bit too small, but it's all I've got for her at the moment. I wouldn't recommend you rush out and buy them for all your Bobobies, but if you have them on hand, give them a try.

Considering Bobobies as a first BJD

If you're considering entry into the BJD world, let me recommend Bobobie as your first doll. Here are a couple of reasons:

1. Price. I know, I shouldn't even bring this up, since it's kind of a taboo subject among doll collectors. But if you don't want a heavy investment, this is a great starter doll to see if you like them. You can get a tiny resin doll (14.5 cm) starting at just $68 without a face-up, and an extra $10 for the face-up. Larger sizes all also available--up to 70 cm--all at very competitive prices.
2. Versatility. If you already collect dolls, Bobobies are some of the few who can share outfits with them. Isabella (and other 27 cm sculpts) can wear some Barbie clothes. Lan (40 cm) can wear Tyler Wentworth (Tonner Doll) clothing. It's great to be able to swap wardrobes with other dolls.
3. Quality. Their price point for the quality is very good. The dolls I have so far have not required sanding--I haven't needed to sand a single seam line, which is amazing. I did need to tighten the elastic in Lan when I first got her, but that was easy. 
4. Construction. It's really a snap to change Lan's eyes and also Isabella's. The way they are sculpted makes it easy. These girls really seem great for beginners (and more seasoned collectors, too).
5. Customization. The dolls are perfect for customization. When you are ready to get into customization, these dolls lend themselves easily to blushing, sueding and even to face-ups.  Head and body swaps are easy. Plus, your initial (relatively) low investment makes them much less scary to work on than a more expensive doll.
6. Dealers often carry them in stock. This way, if you are impatient, you don't have to wait for three months for their arrival. (Some of us are more impatient than others, even after all this time.)

Consider these options when considering your first doll. Sure--you should adore the face sculpt. And posing is important. I don't think my Bobobie poses quite as well as my Dollzone girls, or even as my Peak's Woods. But for the price point (and after sueding)... it's worth considering!

Bobobie Isabella

Bobobie Isabella, originally uploaded by alington.

Introducing Isabella, my daughter Kate's first BJD. We bought Isabella from the Junkyspot. Our first order arrived within three days of placing it online. I was very impressed! Plus, they added some candy (which Kate, who will be nine tomorrow, very much appreciated) in there as well. Everything was securely packaged, also. I highly recommend them, and I'll be ordering from them again soon. They carry Mr. Superclear, eyelashes and all kind of eyes and wigs, in addition to in-stock dolls, for those impatient collectors among us.

Isabella is 27 cm (a little taller than 10.5"), and she's a white-skin Bobobie. We changed her eyes to green (acrylic by Glib). I applied eyelashes, and Kate added some body blush, after I showed her how. I blushed Morphoa at the same time, and we did them together. Isabella is wearing a Faith wig by Monique Gold (size 5/6, the same size as the 12-3/4" Creedy girls, in fact).

Here, and in the rest of my Flickr photo shoot, she is dressed in an older Fashion Fever dress (made for Barbie by Mattel).