Geeking Anticipation

I am obsessed.  As I said before, these dolls are all I can think about.  So I've put all my crazy energy into creative pursuits.

First, I found a pattern for a beret style hat made of felt.  So I bought a dozen or so colors, hoping to make several kinds and hoping that some might fit.  Only made one so far, but its a cutie.  Red and orange wedges with a brown base and a little brown toggle in the center on top.

I've bought a bunch of cloth, scraps from Walmart, for various other things such as backdrops, blankets, clothes, etc.

I had the idea to make him a bed using an RC car or something.  With much hunting, I finally found something that kinda fit the idea in my head.  Its more like a Tonka type car, a pull apart thing made for little kids to learn how to take apart something and then put it back together.  Included is a battery powered "power tool" to screw and unscrew the giant bolts and such.  It was missing tons of pieces, so I really should have gotten it for cheaper.  Oh well, it will work for what I imagined, despite the oversized screws.  Just need to add some padding and stuff.

I also bought a Bratz bathtub set.  It has a Bratz doll, that I really won't be having much to do with.  Its the props that I bought it for.  Tub, towels, mirror, shampoo, and such.  I also gave in and bought a Monster High doll, Frankie Stein (Daughter of Frankenstein).  I really have always thought they were interesting.  I guess it will give me something to work with until Lime gets here.

Ordering?

So, I waited until payday, which was Friday, to order Lime.  Seriously, it was the first thing I did in the morning.  And this way if he takes 2-3 weeks, he will arrive before my birthday.  I promised myself I wouldn't open the box until my birthday.  It will just about kill me if he comes before.  It will kill me if he comes after.  What have I gotten myself into?
Well, I don't have a ton of experience with Paypal.  All I ever used it for was maybe Amazon.com and Gaiaonline.com.  So I was confused when the order form for Cherish didn't send me to Paypal to log in and confirm payment.  After a bit of researching and hunting, I discovered that I was supposed to send the payment to them.  Like mailing a check in the mail.  Only, online through Paypal.  Interesting.
Now my status on the Cherish website is "Payment Received".  Soon I should get an email telling me about its shipping info.  EEEEEEEEK!  SO EXCITED!!
I was reading on DenofAngels (an ABJD community) about other customer's experience with Cherish.  It all seems really positive.  And if they make a mistake, they are apparently really apologetic and work to make things right.  But I am worried about his faceup.  Most people don't order one, planning to do their own.  There are horror stories of clownish faces from people who do order one.  Oh, whoever is working on Lime, please be nice!

Lonely

Its going to be some time before I can earn my DZ Shoyo doll, and this doll craze is just eating me up.  So I considered buying another doll, a smaller doll, to help curb the longing and motivate me even more to get the doll I really want.  Plus, with Natasha getting married, I could use the company.  It was just a thought, until I saw him.  Faith sized Cherish Doll Chubby.
I had some idea that I wanted a boy, but that little face just won me over straight away.  He's about half the size of Orange at 21cm and costs $100 (remember, that doesn't include the hair, makeup, clothes, or shipping, so he will probably be closer to $200 in the end).
Apparently his little body will be able to fit in Bratz Boyz clothes (if I can ever find any) and some Ken.  But I really want Natasha to learn how to sew so that she can make him little outfits.  I'm fantasizing a Link costume and a Vivi costume.



So yes, I'm going to buy him.  But if I've learned anything from my obsessions and a time period of reckless spending, it is not to buy anything immediately on a whim.  Sure, I don't regret buying all 7 seasons of Buffy in one go, but some things I really could have lived without.
My plan: Birthday Present!  My birthday is next month, and with my new job and all the extra hours for training that I have been putting in, I think I can do it.  Plus any birthday money I get will also go towards it.  And hey, all that money I haven't been spending on candy.  Sounds like a plan.

As for his name, he's my little Lime.  It fits with my other doll Orange.  Whether the fruit or the color.  Because his middle name will be Green.  Lime Green.  Yes, I know I'm a dork.

Lack of bookstore

These dolls won't get off my mind.  I'm obsessed.  I know it.  I remembered a magazine I looked at several years ago called Haute Doll.  It had seemed so beautiful to me with the variety of fashion dolls and paraphernalia that make up the hobby of collecting them.  They featured Barbie and Tonner dolls, but I thought I remembered ABJDs as well.  Now that I was getting into this craze, I thought it would be perfect to subscribe.  (I've always enjoyed magazines and the idea that they show up in your mail every month or so.  There just aren't that many that I love enough to really commit to.  I subscribed to Nintendo Power back when I had my second job, but had to give it up when i went back to school.)
But Haute Doll just barely, seriously like last month, ran its last issue.  However, it kind of joined another doll magazine, Fashion Doll Quarterly.  I was willing to commit to Haute Doll.  I wasn't sure about FDQ.  (And that website just doesn't look very professional to me.)

Unfortunately, the Borders where I live went out of business several months ago, so my bookstore choices were severely limited.  I couldn't just go take a look in order to decide if I would subscribe.  So I waited until we visited back home and went to Barnes and Noble.  Took a while to find it hidden beneath all the scrap-booking and cross-stitching magazines, but I quickly decided it was just what I wanted.

Fickle me

With the actual possibility of getting a doll, I went internet surfing again.  I was just looking at wigs and clothes and such, but something unexpected happened.  Darae was replaced as the doll of my dreams.
This is Dollzone 1/4 doll Shoyo.  I know why I passed her by while I was searching before.  The way her eyes are positioned in the company pictures just made her look goofy to me.  But I saw differently styled pictures of her, and fell in love.  This is why:
*She has that gentle smile I love (seriously, so many of the dolls look so sad or grumpy.  I guess its the model look, but I don't like it.) with such elegant facial features.
*I could picture her so many ways.  With Darae, I imagined I would customize her to look the way I wanted and she would stay that way.  With Shoyo, I can imagine all kinds of hair and costume changes and poses and settings. A different look every day.  LOL!
*When I saw her properly, she was simply enchanting.  Seriously, that's the word that comes to mind.  Enchanting.

 This is a special edition of her that Dollzone made that came with cat ears and bunny ears.  I don't want that (plus, its sold out), but these pictures show you how she looks with another costume, hair, and her eyes set differently.
I found tons of owner photographs as well.  I think it is really important to look at those if you want to buy one of these dolls, because they can look so different with a few changes.  It's why people love them so much.  The endless customizing possibilities.

And I've already decided on her name.  Orange!  Okay, not surprising, but it did take some thought.  I was also considering Opal and Olivia (what's with the O's?).  But I just think the personality in the name Orange is what I am going for.

Little Sisters Rule!

My little sister Natasha came to me with a proposition.  We'd been thinking and talking about weight loss, a subject I've dealt with pretty much my whole life, and she wanted to motivate me.  She proposed that if I could lose 100 pounds, she would get me an ABJD.  Now this is no small feat.  That's a life changing amount of weight.  And that's an expensive doll.  The idea was perfect.

It's not going to be easy, and its not going to happen anytime soon, but the dreams are starting to materialize into reality.

So what have I done so far.  Well, of the hundreds of weight loss plans I've tried, nothing has worked better for me then giving up candy, dessert, and soda.  So, I'm doing that again.  (The first time I did this, I was rewarded with my cat, Twiggy.)  Of course, I will need to do much more than just that, but its my start.

Story continues

Then earlier this year, the fever struck again.  I even went as far as listing down my favorites and figuring out the prices.  I wanted a 46ish cm girl doll that had a smile.  This I knew.  After days of searching and comparing, I decided on LUTS Kid Delf Darae.
Her gentle smile appealed so much to me, and the price seemed worth it.  I looked at pictures from owners that helped me envision the different ways she could look.

Hold on.  I really think I should do a little explaining for those of you who know nothing about ABJDs.  These dolls are super customizable and really expensive.  Darae is $240.  And that buys you an assembled, naked doll with a random pair of eyes.  If you want makeup, you can pay another $55 for the company to do it, send it off and pay some other artist to do it, or do it yourself.  Then you need to buy a wig and an outfit.  And don't forget the cost of international shipping.  It adds up fast.

I had no job at the time, and was leeching off of my little sister.  I knew there was no way I could get this doll anytime soon, but I wanted to get her someday.  Dreaming... dreaming was nice.

(P.S. Some companies package their dolls differently.  Some will include a random wig in the base price.  Some even include a nightgown or underwear of some sort.  And if you buy the more expensive full sets, pretty much everything is included.)

Let me explain.

No, it is too much.  Let me sum up.

I fell in love with ABJDs (Asian Ball Jointed Dolls) really fast.  It was bound to happen.  I was already in love with Asian Dramas and graphic novels and such.  And I have always been in love with dolls.  So when I fell, I fell hard.

I spent hours looking at the various types sold by different companies and photography of loving owners.  My creative heart cried out for one, but my mind cried at the price.  I would need to be in a better situation before I could even think of buying one.  But dreaming... dreaming was nice.