I won a Lovely Blog Award!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I won my first Lovely Blog Award and I am so excited! I would like to thank Debbie Behan-Garrett of Black Doll Collecting for giving me the award. The rules of the award say that I have to pass it on to 15 other blogs. I will post the names of the 15 blogs tonight! Stay tuned!

Xoxo,

BN

Aisha by Marissa May

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Aisha Prototype Reborn by Maria Rubio of Adorable Bebe Nursery

When I saw the prototype for Marissa May’s new kit Aisha on eBay, I immediately fell in love! I rarely see kits like Aisha being produced. Marissa really captured the true realism of an ethnic infant. Aisha’s nose and lips are delicately pronounced and proportionate -- she actually looks like a baby -- something that seems to be difficult for sculptors to achieve. I have seen many sculpts with over exaggerated ethnic features that cause the dolls to look like adults with baby bodies. Yikes—I just got a bad visual of the movie Little Man (2006) starring Shawn and Marlon Wayans. LOL

I signed on to Bountiful Baby’s website yesterday evening and I nearly had a panic attack when I saw Aisha only being offered in the “biracial” (tan-colored) vinyl. I held my breath and emailed Bountiful Baby to find out if Aisha would be offered in their light peach-colored (Caucasian) vinyl. Much to my delight, Bountiful Baby replied with a yes!



The news about Aisha was certainly welcome news because let me let you in on a little secret: Trying to reborn an ethnic doll from a pre-darkened vinyl kit does not work [for me].

It may work for other artists, but I have tried to reborn pre-darkened kits in the past and those dollies are tucked away in my "did not work out" bag. lol

In order to achieve optimal results, I have to start with a VERY blank slate that is as white as possible. The coloring on the lips, nails, palms and soles does not turn out correctly if the vinyl is pre-darkened in those areas. I have found it virtually impossible to lighten the dark vinyl. Well, it is possible, but it does not look attractive.

In fact, I wish there were pure white vinyl kits available. That way, I could mix my colors on a pure white palette and apply those exact colors to the pure white vinyl. No guessing games, no neutralizing, no lightening the vinyl required. I wish someone would sell me a prototype of a pure white vinyl kit to play with. Hint Hint, sculptors! LOL

More Infant Fashion

Friday, September 18, 2009

I collect dolls, so why can't I collect baby clothing too? lol I am addicted to nordstrom.com right now. They have a decent stock of size 'newborn' clothing and impulse buyers like myself have trouble resisting temptation. Here is what I ordered:

Margery Ellen, $33.90 (SALE)

Biscotti, $28.90 (SALE)


mb, $44.00


Nordstrom Baby, $21.90 (SALE)


Now I have to find some babies around here to look pretty in the new clothing. That shouldn't be too difficult at all. :)

Xoxo,
BN

A Break From Rooting for Nina

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Ok, Lotus is halfway rooted, so I decided to take a short break and blog about my Nina kit. Yes, that's right, she is MY Nina kit. LOL

I have been waiting for Nina for sooooo long. A tiny photo of the Nina OOAK surfaced like earlier this year, and I immediately focused on her like a magnet. Hey, who isn't attracted to super-cuteness? :)

Click here to see my blog posting from January about Nina

Colliii TV very recently posted a video featuring baby Nina, and I am even more in love with the kit after watching the video. Her limbs are so detailed, and her lips are a great size (perfect for an ethnic transformation). I love Colliii TV's reborn videos, by the way. I hope to make videos of my completed reborn dolls in the future. Videos are such a great idea!

Anyway, enough of my babbling, here is a link to Colliii TV's video:

Click here to watch Nina on Colliii TV

Thank you Gudrun, Andre and everyone else at Real Effect for such a great kit! ♥ It may be a while before I can get started on Nina, but trust me, I will be counting down the days. lol

Xoxo,

BN

More Infant Fashion and a Blogging Break

Wednesday, September 09, 2009



Good news! I was browsing nordstrom.com last week and noticed some delicious Ralph Lauren baby clothing in size 'newborn'!

Why am I thrilled, you ask? hehe

Well, because I love Ralph's designs, and unfortunately, the smallest Ralph Lauren size I have ever found has been a size 3M. Most of my dolls can only fit newborn sized clothing, so I had to pass on Ralph's clothing....until now!

I went through a phase where I liked to dress my reborns up in fancy, ribbon-adorned, smocked clothing with crocheted booties for auction photographs, but that is all over now. I am swaying towards a more simplistic, comfy, snuggly style, and Ralph Lauren's baby clothing will perfectly suit my new phase. My order from Nordstrom arrived today and I LOVE Ralph Lauren's thick, soft cotton. Cotton like that tends to photograph well and that is important to me.

Blogging Break

This will be my last blog entry for a couple of weeks. Lotus is ready to be rooted and well, *rooting and blogging do not work well together*. hehe

Oh yeah...I sold my Nikon D80 on eBay last week. Aside from the fact that I like to try out new cameras every 8 weeks or so, I would also like to record movies, and the Nikon D80 does not offer that feature. I am looking to try the Nikon D90 with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens next. I may take it a step further and try the new Nikon D300s. Either way, I will be back with a new camera and long-awaited photographs of a completed Lotus. ♥

Xoxo,
BN

Gotta Have This One!

1. Her name is Lulu.

2. Yes, she is Asian. Not all Asians have super almond-shaped eyes. Thank goodness for another Asian kit!

3. I want the kit.

4. I want the prototype reborn. Helen Jalland did an amazing job reborning her!

5. Adrie Stoete-Schiuteman deserves an award and a red carpet event for being the best sculptress ever.

6. So many kits, so little time!

7. I just can't take my eyes off of Lulu's little face. Blasian? Oh yeah, that is definitely what my Lulu will be. I cannot wait!

8. I am sure you already knew what I was going to say before you read it. lol

Xoxo,
BN