New Year's resolutions...

Do you have resolutions this year? I always try to make them, and end up not quite keeping them. This hasn't discouraged me so far, though.

We are finishing up a hectic week of rearranging the kids' rooms. I still have one bookshelf to sort through, and I'd like to go through my closet. The problem is, I feel like as soon as I donate my too-big clothing, I'll be setting myself up to regain all the weight I lost. But it's time to just buckle down and get it done. Along the same lines, I'm thinking of the doll clothes I own, and doing the same thing with them.

I'm playing with fewer dolls these days, simply because of time constraints. I have several BJDs to sell, plus I have a ton of vintage Barbie I don't enjoy like I used to. There isn't a rush, I suppose--but it would be nice to have the space. I'd like to be able to display each doll in a simple and uncluttered setting. Maybe that means pairing down a little (or more than a little).

Then... there's the Azone problem. I really got into Pure Neemo dolls this past year, and while they are cute, I have way too many! They lose their value once deboxed, of course. I haven't met another collector who'd be interested in the ones I have--well, save my friends Melissa and Megann. Plus, my daughter Lauren would kill me if I got rid of even one! The nice thing is that these dolls display really nicely, since they are only about 10" tall.

As far as conventions go--I'm registered for Grant A Wish, Barbie, and IFDC--though I should make sure I sent in the IFDC registration. I'm also planning to attend the Integrity Toys convention this year, as it's within driving distance. I was thinking of Tonner's Texas convention, but I think that's pushing it.

Finally, I'd like to finish the three books in progress I have this year. I am working on a rewrite/revision of Steffie: Out of the Box, which includes the latest dolls, some additional OOAK dolls, and will combine both prior volumes. Second, I'm getting very close to finishing Daphne: Out of the Box, which focuses on Effanbee's/Tonner's Daphne sculpt. I've realized I won't be able to include every Daphne made, as some are just too hard to find and much to pricey for me to justify for this project. I were still interested in hanging on to those taller dolls in my own collection, it would be worthwhile.

Finally, there's the biggest project: the next edition of Ball-Jointed Dolls for Beginners. I have a lot written, but it's just not coming together as easily as I'd like. I got stuck doing a new and improved database of BJD companies, and it's hard to keep on top of what is still around and which companies have gone under. Plus, I'm having problems with the book format, and I may need help this time around.

So, between all of these things and taking more photos of my dolls, I think I'm set!

Love doll photography? Check out Topaz!

All Glamour Sydney Chase Deluxe Basic by Tonner Doll, click to enlarge.

My favorite little plug-in on the market is Topaz Adjust. I love this software! It helps pop my photos' contrast in a way that's smart and fun. I'm seriously a dummy photographer: if it's not easy to do, I won't do it. If it's not fast, I won't use it. Topaz solves these problems!

Through the end of September, when you use the code septadjust, you can get Adjust 5 for $24.99 instead of the $49.99 retail price. You can also try it for free for up to 30 days to see if you like it.

I use it as a plug-in to Adobe Elements (both Mac and Windows compatible), but it also works with the following programs:

• Photoshop
• Lightroom
• Aperture
• iPhoto (hmm--I should probably also install it here!)
• PaintShop Pro
• Serif Photo Plus
• Irfanview

I can even install it myself, without the assistance of my personal (computer) administrator. I'd also recommend you try out Star Effects and some of the other plug-ins. They are very fun, and dare I say, addicting!

I've taken a sample of how I personally use Topaz Adjust. Click on the photo for a larger version. On the left, you can see the original version of Sydney. It's not an awful photo; it simply feels a little drab.

The center photo is a result of a single click on the "I feel lucky" button. It's such a cool feature, and it gives you a finished artsy photo with a single click--perfect for those really lazy days. And come on, I must not be the only one to have days like this!

The last photo is one where I actually spent three minutes editing contrast, detail, and color. Plus I added a frame and vignette. Doesn't that one look absolutely spectacular when compared with the original? If I can spend three minutes and get that kind of result, why wouldn't I? I have no excuse. I think I'll go install Topaz in iPhoto now as well!

Go download a free trial--there's no reason not to try it out. I'd love to hear what you think!

Fortune Cats

Fortune Cats, a photo by alington on Flickr.

So they aren't actually dolls, but they are still pretty cute.

I thought I'd share them with you, dear readers, today. Two "Fortune Cats" from Peak's Woods, one black, one pink, I have to listen to my kids each time I get them out, and explain why I can't unroll their fortunes.

Help Out Your Fellow Dolly Friend & Vote

In honor of a photo contest put on by Peak's Woods on Facebook, I decided to make a special outfit for my FOF Hucky.  The contest requires a person to take a picture with their doll, so I made sure Hucky's OOAK outfit matched mine.  We are both sporting pink dresses with white dots.  Can you also tell I did some bokeh work with my camera?

Now, I need your help!  If you are on Facebook, please "like" my photo on the Peak's Woods page.  Your help will be greatly appreciated and will actually help contribute to further MegannArt dolly clothing on new doll bodies.

Remember, go to this photo on Facebook to vote, and you have to "like" the photo itself, not a comment, feed, etc.

Support an artist!  Visit my website (MegannArt) for an Etsy shop, Twitter, Facebook (with occasional discounts), Pinterest page, and much more.  Plus, there is even a new pattern book out now that has some BJD patterns, called Dolly Bureau!

Please vote for Aaron!

One of my favorite people in the BJD world, Aaron Egawa, has entered the very first I love Dollheart contest at Ms. Cholong's Boutique Doll. Please vote for him--between today and June 6, 2013. There will be three winners chosen, based on the number of votes the photos receive:

• 1st place receives $200 worth of Dollheart items
• 2nd place receives $100 worth of Dollheart items
• 3rd place will receive $50 worth of Dollheart items

The prizes will be announced next week on June 7.

If you can't decided which photo you like best, please vote for photo #2, title Mary riding in the Wilderness, with her favorite Bobcase Spike, by my friend Aaron Egawa. He really needs extra Dollheart goodies! :) (There are many terrific entries, I have to say!)

The system will only allows voting for one time for one photo, and it should begin later today. (I don't think it's function just yet.)

The kitty bomb.

Charming Rogita, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Do you know you else likes to kitty bomb my doll photos?

Bear.

This is Rogita, on Peak's Woods Absolute Beauty body, who happens to be just about the same dimensions as Tonner Doll's American Model. She's modeling Charming Lady, the fabulous new outfit by Tonner Doll.

It's actually a pale blue, not gray, and it's a separate skirt and jacket. Simply a gorgeous outfit.

Rogita is wearing her default glass eyes and a LeekeWorld wig in Khaki (really, it's a dark green!).

And yes, that's Bear's tail there. You can see more photos, without Bear crashing the frame, on Flickr.

2013 Grand Photo Contest Voting...

Check out these photos from the Doll Wardrobe contest - entry #118, #117 and #116. Leave a comment if you'd like to vote for those photos--I think they are really cool and they stand out a lot from the others that were submitted.

You can see all the entries here.

Repost from The Doll Wardrobe blog - the contest rules:

Sup peoples!

Reminder:

We have uploaded all of the entries for the 2013 Grand Photo Contest!

See the entries here: 

http://dw2013grandphotocontest.blogspot.com/

You can vote on each entry by commenting on that blog post.

Or you can email us your votes to nora.demington@gmail.com.

One vote per person per pic.

You can vote for more than one pic.

You can vote for as many pics as you want.

You can vote for yourself.

Your family members can vote for your pics.

Your friends can vote for your pics.

You can advertise your entries on your blogs, Facebook pages, Youtubes, etc.

All votes are due by Saturday, April 6th, 2013.

Then the Final Round begins.

If you are selected to be in the Final Round you will need to submit a fourth picture -- one taken for a clue you haven't used yet.

We'll pick the four people to participate in the Final Round from a combo of the votes tally and Penny's judgment.

Then those four people will have 2 weeks to submit their fourth pic.

So start thinking about what you would do for a fourth pic.

The fourth pic will determine who wins the doll, and who will get the $35 AG gift cards.

Some photo eye candy of my newest Ellowyne

Okay, a quick post on three new things I have to share with you:


#1: My newest Ellowyne Wilde, "Nothing Springs to Mind" from the Spring 2010 line. I acquired her in a trade, nude, from my friend and fellow FDR writer, Carolyn and she's so pretty! (I meant Ellowyne, but Carolyn's pretty, too.) She's only my second Ellowyne (the first being Essential Ellowyne, Too Wigged Out, from Fall 2009), and my first with painted eyes. Carolyn, our resident hair expert, trimmed the long chunk of hair the hangs down in the front and I think it looks much better short.

2012 IFDC backdrops...and a few tips on how to create your own!

 At my third International Fashion Doll Convention this year, I decided to create two backdrops for the photography night and to then be raffled off. (If you want to see photos of all the backdrops from this year’s convention, please check out Shuga-Shug’s Flickr photos.) Conventioneers can pose their travel dolls in front of each backdrop for some unique photo opportunities. My favorite backdrops from last year were the ones with seats, so I didn’t have to fiddle with trying to get my Fashion Royalty to stand on her own, so I decided to incorporate seating into both of mine. I’m so proud of how they turned out, that I had to post some photos. If you’re a crafty DIY-er, like me, I’ve also included some tips on how to create your own.

Tonner Convention photo competition #2

My second competition entry is shown above--again, I didn't want to travel all the way to Chicago and not enter at least one competition. This one is called: Upward Mobility.


My model is Ultimate Glamour Ashleigh, and she's wearing DeeAnna Denton's Beyond the Sea gown, DollHeart jewelry, and a mohair wig by Peak's Woods.

Tonner Convention photo competition entry

Believe in the Power of Play - this is one of my two entries for the Tonner Convention photography competition. The title: Heavenly.

The doll depicted is Ultimate Glamour Ashleigh [surprise, surprise!]. She's wearing a wig by Kemper Dolls and jewelry from the Noir #99 Theatre de la Mode outfit.

Nothing too exciting, but I figured I'd better bring something with me!

Rose of Versailles

Rose of Versailles, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Even more Ultimate Glamour Ashleigh by Tonner Doll, in a Tonner outfit called the Rose of Versailles.

This photo has been run through a Topaz effect filter in Photoshop Elements for enhancements.

Unusual Alice

Elfdoll Olivia, resin BJD, restyled as Alice in Wonderland

Just a little sneak peek at a photo from my next work-in-progress, my next book, Unusual Alice [working title]. This book is a photography book of Alice in Wonderland-themed dolls, including resin, vinyl and plastic, and cloth. Designed as a delightful book of eye candy, I'm hoping to finish this book in time for the IFDC.

I'll keep you posted!

FDQ Photo contest

Love dolls? Love jewelry? Oh my goodness--eye candy galore!

Check out these submissions for Fashion Doll Quarterly Magazine's photo contest. I'm simply blown away by some of the submissions. I could spend all day looking at them. Wonderful!

I have to admit, some of the entries are quite clever! I can't wait to see the winner!

Diorama photo contest: Get published and win a prize!

Check out Maryann Roy's blog, Welcome Home, for all the details of this upcoming contest.

Maryann has been working with Gems & Jewels jewelry store in Australia, and has received a contest challenge from the store owner, Suzy Allan: Create a diorama setting which includes a piece of human-sized jewelry.

Any doll scale and size may be used, only it must be included with human-scale jewelry in order to qualify.

For all the rules, and to see how to submit your entry, check out the latest edition of FDQ, or visit Maryann's website for details.

First prize: A beautiful doll-shaped charm (so adorable) chosen by the shop owner and created by Gems & Jewels, worth $675! (Check out the samples--ack!)

Second prize: A $75 gift certificate from Welcome Home!

Third prize: A copy of FDQ's fabulous IN FOCUS - Digital Photography for the Doll Collector.

The contest deadline is approaching soon--February 14, 2012, and it's open to collectors world-wide. Good luck!

Taking my Liv dolls camping

My husband and I went camping a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to bring a couple of Liv dolls with me and try doing a photo shoot with them. Why Liv dolls? Their multiple joints give them many posing options, including double-jointed knees that allow them to sit. Plus, they're inexpensive, so I didn't mind getting them dirty and smokey, which everything that comes camping becomes.

The story in my head while I was shooting these photos was that a boy and girl get lost in the woods. The girl is concerned that they won't find their way back to civilization before they run out of daylight, while the boy is a "jokester" who takes nothing seriously and sees the situation as more of an adventure than a problem. Sadly, I ran out of daylight (and needed to cook some supper on the campstove), so they never did find their way home. Maybe in the next episode.

I think I enjoyed this way too much.

Brand new art doll magazine = fabulous!

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Publisher Software from YUDU

Be sure to check out this brand new online magazine, Much Ado. It's a fantastic collaborative work by a group of doll artists, filled with gorgeous dolls, photography, tips, discussions and projects. My two top articles so far are the photography tips article (it's so my style!) and the article about copying art dolls versus original art.

If you like the publication, be sure to

• visit the sponsoring advertisers and 
• give the magazine a five-star rating. You'll have to sign up for a free account to do this. But it's worth it!

Visit Yves's website, Freaky Little Dolls, as well, and subscribe.

Fashion Doll Photography - Christmas Vacation

Photographing my fashion dolls in venues other than my home is something fairly new for me. It began a couple of years ago when a friend of mine and I hosted the official travel doll for the 2009 National Barbie Doll Convention. Since then I've taken various fashion dolls to local areas for impromptu fashion shoots. Over the holidays we made a couple of trips for which I decided to take a fashion doll, much to the amusement of my family.

Happy Go Lightly in the lobby of the War Memorial Opera Hou

The first trip was a quick visit up to San Francisco to see the Nutcracker Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House. I thought Happy Go Lightly Silkstone Barbie (HGL) would enjoy dressing up in her finery to attend a beautifully produced ballet in such an historic location. She took the opportunity to don Sheer Sparkle by Dressmaker Details. Photographing dolls out in the public is a constant learning experience. Available lighting, on-site props, people milling about, the camera, and the photographer's skills (just to name a few) all influence the outcome of the photo. In this case, there were so many folks visiting in the lobby that it was impossible to get a photograph of HGL without someone stepping into the picture. The unfortunate aspect of this is that it messes with the perceived scale of things. Also, I need to learn more about my camera's capabilities. While the lighting at the Opera House is fine for it's intended use, it's underlit for photographing HGL. I currently use a point and shoot digital camera and right now I only know either flash on or flash off. With the flash on, HGL was in focus but I couldn't see the background. With the flash off, HGL is a little fuzzy but we can see not only HGL but the background as well. And isn't that why I took her to the ballet in the first place? So for now, to explain the fuzziness, I'm going with the old Hollywood standby of claiming she wanted petroleum jelly slathered on the camera lens to give her a more youthful look.

Endless Summer Poppy Parker with Minnie Mouse.

For our next trip, we went to Disneyland. For this little junket, I took Endless Summer Poppy Parker. Poppy has become my favorite fashion doll (shh, don't tell HGL or any of my other dolls!). She has such a youthful appearance and she wears so many different clothing styles well. For this session she wore a jacket, top, belt, and pants from Clear-Lan and shoes and jewelry from the Ask Any Girl gift set from the 2010 Fashion Royalty Convention collection. This photo session went much better as we were outside for most of the photos which gave me natural lighting to work with.  Also, while there are just masses of people at Disneyland (the fire marshal actually closed the park to newly entering people due to overcrowding) the people have more space to spread out so I was able to do better about avoiding folks stepping into my picture. Here Poppy poses with Minnie Mouse in front of Cinderella's Castle.

While I do occasionally run into glitches with my doll photography, I still enjoy the experience immensely. When I first began I was a little timid about how people would react. Now I don't worry about that because I've experienced how much fun it is. As a matter of fact, on both of these trips, I had complete strangers come up and photograph my doll as well! And I know that with time and practice, my photos will begin to better meet my expectations.

If you'd like to see more pictures from these two photo shoots, please visit my Flickr.