It was so much fun that I spent all of 2013 doing a huge series on Special Days throughout the year. The number of smaller Iplehouse dolls just kept growing, as my excitement for doll photography grew......and my interest in sewing costumes for sale dwindled.
Then in 2016 two of the doll companies started offering Fashion sized dolls, and I was hooked. I'd always loved realistic dolls in historical and Fantasy costumes, but didn't much care for the huge SD sized dolls. Even though they were beautiful, they were just too big and cumbersome. I was used to smaller dolls. In the days when I made art dolls with my sister, our dolls were 16 to 18" tall - the same size as the new Fashion sized BJDs. So I finally had the dolls of my dreams - beautiful realistic adults, that were posable. In some regards it is a good thing they weren't available back when I first became interested in BJDs or I may never have gotten hooked on the smaller children first.
So, what now? I have a LOT of dolls, and way too many ideas. The Fashion sized dolls have taken centre stage this past year, and will likely continue to do so. Many of the children who didn't already belong to specific family groups with JID size parents, have been adopted by Fashion sized parents, helping to inspire all kinds of stories.
Like 'the Christmas Story' back in January, staring Nami, one of my first BIDs....
Another group of dolls I really love are my Forest Dwellers by Whispering Grass. This year I finally made the decision to make them all some clothes...which inspired a story of its own....
I currently have five dolls on preorder; two dark gray Manuna Mice, and a pair of brown Komirka Chipmunks from Whispering Grass. They will need tiny outfits when they arrive.
With Miho having come to her own recently, I thought she deserved a guy of her own. Miho was the very first of my Fashion dolls, and arrived back in 2016, but she never fit in with all the later arrivals, until this year when she became the Fairy Queen....
Well, I still have to finish posting the photos of Baron and Naomi's trip up north, as well as a few other scenes involving the two of them.
Lawrence is taking some time off as king, to temporarily play a role in one of my favourite Jim Henson's Storyteller episodes..... 'the Soldier and Death'. He's already in costume, just waiting for me to transform Miho's castle into a devil infested, palace interior....
One thing I would like to do is finish the sequel to 'the White Cat'. I took the entire first part of the story last year, but it developed into such a complicated storyline that I had no idea on how to resolve it, so, because it didn't have an ending, it was never posted.
And who knows what else will pop up? I've had things I've wanted to do to for years, but something else always comes up. So we just have to wait and see if this is finally the year....
In the meantime I'm just going to have a slice of cake....