Author: Nikki

CloverDolls Box Opening Thumbnail

New Video: CloverDolls Box Opening! Dounat the Dragonling and Cthulhu BJD

Posted on by Nikki

I ordered Dounat and Cthulhu back in September 2019 from Mariya at CloverDolls and they just arrived on June 2, 2020. 🎉🙌😍 Dounat the Dragonling is for me and the Cthulhu is a very late Christmas present for my husband. The entire experience from the initial communication through to delivery was fantastic!

Check out Cloverdolls for more pictures, details, and work-in-progress!

  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariya_zhukova_cloverdolls/
  • In-progress & prototype photos: https://zhukova-mariya.livejournal.com/73423.html

The Video: CloverDolls Box Opening!

Capsule Chix Video Header

New Video: Toys for My Toys!

Posted on by Nikki

I posted a video yesterday about some toys I recently received for my toys. Capsule Chix are so cute and so much fun! 😍

I’m so impressed with these little dolls – the jointing and options are great! If you’re interested in purchasing your own, help out the channel and use the Amazon links below. 😄

They’re the perfect size for 1/4 (MSD/MNF) and 1/3+ (SD+) ball jointed dolls.

Links to Capsule Chix Dolls:

Capsule Chic Sweet Circuits Collection (paid link) – https://amzn.to/2TT39V8
Ultimix 4 Pack (paid link) – https://amzn.to/3djFLYq
Ctrl+Alt+Magic (paid link) – https://amzn.to/2XQgjnc
Giga Glam (paid link) – https://amzn.to/2XfpbU4
Holo Glow (paid link) – https://amzn.to/2XJA7bx
Ram Rock (paid link) – https://amzn.to/2XMNvLZ

The Video: Toys for my toys? Heck yeah!

BJD Meetup Planning: Buddy System

Plan a Successful BJD Meetup

Posted on by Nikki

Use the Buddy System

Have you ever planned a meetup, posted it everywhere you can think of online, told all of your doll friends about it, and showed up on the specified day and time only to wait for others to show up? And wait…… and wait….. and wait…. only to realize several hours later that nobody else is coming? No? Well, consider yourself lucky!

I remember years ago, shortly after I joined the hobby and experienced the above scenario, a friend and I made an agreement that we would always schedule a meetup when the other could attend. This would ensure that, even if nobody else showed up, there would always be at least one other person there.

If you’re new to the hobby, it makes sense that you may not have another doll collector to join you – that’s OK! See if another friend or family member would be willing to hang out for a while until others show up. This way you won’t have to wait by yourself and have someone to chat with while waiting.

There doesn’t have to be a big to-do made about where or when a meetup will be – just plan it with one other person and post online to let others know where you will be and when you will be there. If others can show up – they will! If not, at least you’ll have a good time with your friend or family!

Restoration fo Elfdoll Soah

Dye Removal Process on Elfdoll Soah

Posted on by Nikki

I originally posted this on my LiveJournal ten years ago (10!! omg it’s been 10 years!) when I had the opportunity to purchase an Elfdoll Soah from a friend who had sent her out to be dyed. When he got her back, the dye job was extremely uneven and streaky.

At the time, I had been wanting a Soah for years and the opportunity was just too good to pass up. So I jumped! …. haha, that’s a lie… I grabbed her up so fast it would have made your head spin!

I didn’t know quite what I was getting into, though.

Unfortunately, when it came to record-keeping, I didn’t fully think things through. When I received her, I didn’t have her in my apartment for more than 5 minutes before I started the process of removing the purple dye. That means I only have photos of purple-dyed doll parts rather than the full doll.

Apologies in advance for the size of the photos. Keep in mind, this was originally posted in 2009, and posted images were a lot smaller back then…

Streaky Purple Doll Parts

The dye job was so uneven and streaky over her entire body and face. I only have a couple of pictures of some of the body parts showing just how bad it was – but imagine this over the entire doll!

Elfdoll Soah Purple Parts
Streaky purple doll parts!
Elfdoll Soah Purple Parts
You can see how uneven the dye job was on these pieces.

The Scrubbing Process

A friend of mine came over and we started the dye removal process by soaking her in Windsor & Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer and using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to scrub her down. Surprisingly, this (along with elbow grease!) actually took off most of the dye!

Elfdoll Soah Body Soaking in Windsor & Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer
Elfdoll Soah’s body soaking in a bowl of Windsor & Newton Brush Cleaner & Restorer.
Elfdoll Soah Dye Removal In Progress
Most of the dye was removed with W&N Brush Cleaner and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Mostly Cleaned Head + Dyed Body Parts

Elfdoll Soah Head and Body Comparison
Comparison of the mostly cleaned head and the still-dyed body parts.

Sanding, Sanding, and More Sanding

Elfdoll Soah Sanding
Sanding, sanding, sanding….
Elfdoll Soah Sanding In Progress
Progress!

Dye Removal Complete!

After much scrubbing and sanding, and even more sanding and scrubbing, she was declared done! There was still purple dye inside her stringing channels that we couldn’t reach, but overall, she came out looking fabulous!

Elfdoll Soah Fully Restored
Fully restored!
Elfdoll Soah Restored Next to Windsor and Newton Cleaner
Here she is next to the bowl of W&N Brush Cleaner.
Elfdoll Soah Fully Restored Closeup
And here she is closer up!