Happy Anniversary to Me!

Today is the twelfth anniversary of my Antique Lilac website.  The very first post was actually in the end of October 2010, but I chose November first to be the official start. And I celebrate with a small cake every year. Although as the number of candles grows, so does the size of the cake....

Twelve years is a long time, and things have changed a lot since then. Back then I had only 2 BJDs - Elfdoll Ryung, and my first Narae, and three dolls on order - Kaye Wiggs Cinnamon, Iplehouse JID Asa, and a Soom Cuprit (who was transformed into Hazy shortly after her arrival)

Even though I originally started my website as a platform for selling doll costumes, that quickly dropped to the wayside as my love for photographing the dolls totally took over.  The first few dolls were purchased to be costume models, but after photography became more and more important, I decided I preferred the MSD and smaller dolls, and I started ordering dolls just because I loved them, or to make a family unit.  So, over the years my doll family has grown from those first few models to one hundred and six dolls, with just one more currently on order, scheduled to arrive some time in the new year.​
Sixty one of the dolls are friends of Winston the dragon, and appear in the back of his Photo Album...

I always enjoyed photographing my contemporary kids, however when the first fashion sized dolls were introduced six years ago, I was really in my element, finally having the perfect sized realistic proportioned dolls to sew costumes for. I love the Fashion sized dolls from Iplehouse, and more recently the ones by SartoriaJ, a company started by two artists from Iplehouse. They are the same size as the dolls my sister and I used to make years ago, so the perfect, comfortable size for me to make costumes for.
Yesterday I finally finished the outfit for my newest arrival, Dominic by SJ. I finished his robe, and the scabbard for his dagger, and I gave him a fancy chain around his neck...

So now he's ready to be introduced to Baron and Naomi.
I still need to try make him a mohair wig, but the style I'd like would be a huge challenge. Anyways, it's never going to happen if I don't try. I just need to photograph the scene where Miho introduces him to Baron and Naomi, so his wig stays consistent through their wedding story, and doesn't change part way through. And then I can attempt it..maybe.

Plans?

So, what are my plans for the upcoming year?  Well, first of all I'd really like to finish off my White Cat sequel.  I started shooting that story over two years ago, and it took on a life of its own, growing exponentially.
​I will start posting the final chapter tomorrow. Obviously we know there will be a happy ending, but we will also discover Kassia's back story in the process. Here's a sneak peak...

Then there's Baron and Naomi's wedding story. I've been working towards that all year, but didn't want to start posting it until after I finish my White Cat sequel. I still have hundreds of photos to process, but I'll give a little sneak peak....

​The little flower girls coming for their dress fitting....

In the cathedral, just before Lawrence walks Naomi down the aisle...

Then there's the whole ceremony in the cathedral, which was photographed at our son's movie studio. The photos are amazing, but most still need to be processed...

Then there's all the formal portraits....

...their garden reception...

...and their honeymoon in Quebec...

Once those two stories are finished, I'll finally be free to just take photos whenever inspiration hits.

Although there is still one story I had really wanted to put together this past year, since most of the photos for it were shot ten years ago.  I had thought it would make a great tenth anniversary project to finally address this year, but then the other two stories pretty much took over all my time. I'll see if I can still fit it in, but with Christmas decorations already appearing in the stores, this calendar year is quickly coming to an end. After all it's November already!

Anyways, it's great I have the two stories to post since I'm starting a new project today. I was contacted last month by a company in Hong Kong to see if I'd be interested in some costume collaborations for their popular line of collector dolls. I have two of their dolls to serve as my costume models, and I've been given carte blanche to make whatever I want. It's an exciting new project, but I won't be able to share photos of my work until after something gets produced. I'm hoping they'll be happy with what I'm planning on making.

In addition to the costume prototypes for the collector dolls, I have a huge list of doll clothes that I've been wanting to make for some time now. The list just keeps getting longer and longer. Some things do eventually get done, like the outfits for all my House Elves that were finally painted...

....and I finally made that second dragon I've been wanting to for years...

I'd also like to work towards some more books, but don't know where to start.  There are so many great photos and stories that would make great books. ​I do have a couple of ideas for which ones I'd like to do next. But it takes a lot of time, even though I'm not the one doing the actual layout.

I'd also like to reorganize my website to create a For Sale page for all the things I've been wanting to let go of; wigs, shoes, doll eyes, old art dolls, and books. I've been wanting to do that for years now, but everything takes time, and I can only do so much. So it never happens.

Anyways, today I can look back and celebrate all the things I did get done this past year, and a year from now I can look back to see what happened next. Hopefully a lot!

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