When I'm not around...

So this is what my dolls look like when I'm here with them in my craft room:

Some collectable dolls on a shelf

...and this is them when I leave:

Pullip Luna goes under the knife!

I've had my 27 cm small bust soft body Obitsu since soon after I received Suzette (Pullip Io, my first Pullip), but I am just now getting around to putting it on one of my dolls.  It wasn't my intention to have my first modification be with my very favourite doll, but I really wanted to apply Luna's tattoos, so she ended up being my Guinea pig.




I gathered up my supplies: My new Dremel tool for grinding down the neck peg of the Obitsu, Pullip Tokidoki Luna (under a general anesthetic), my 27 cm small bust soft body Obitsu (white), neck pegs (these are included with the body- I used the largest that came in the package), screw drivers (flat head and precision Philips), eye lashes (from Halloween), Elmers white glue (must be water soluble school-type glue so it does not melt the plastic).  Not pictured here (because I wasn't planning to change her eye chips): Cool Cat smooth eye chips in dark purple.



I began by removing Luna's head from her stock body, which required a trip across the street to borrow a neighbour's screwdriver, because my precision screwdriver was not narrow enough to reach into the deepest hole in the head.  Then I attached the largest neck peg to the Obitsu body and proceeded to grind down the peg to the size of the Pullip neck peg.  This did not take very long at all, despite the fact that I was using a fine grit grinder when I probably ought to have been using a medium grit (which did not come with my Dremel).

While I had her head open, I decided to apply extra lashes.  I did not use the ones pictured above but a more feathery set from Halloween.  This, which I thought would be the most straight-forward part of this modification, was actually the trickiest for me.  First, the eyelashes (made for humans) come with a very sticky adhesive that is on the wrong side of the lashes for doll application.  You have to adhere them under the lids, not over the lids.  So when you apply the lashes to the wet Elmer's glue, they stick to your hand, your tweezers, your table, the scissors... basically anything other than the wet Elmer's glue on the doll's eyelid.

In the midst of my eyelash problem I decided to try out new eye chips.  I do really like Luna's black eyes, but I had her open, and I had 5 new pairs of eye chips in my Christmas stocking, so I figured I'd try them out and could always go back to the black if I didn't like the purple.  The black eye chips popped out easily with a precision screwdriver, and I glued the new ones in place with more of the Elmer's glue.



Then I had the brilliant (not!) idea to cover the sticky part of the eyelashes in Glossy Accents.  This part (with the Glossy Accents) in theory (but I will learn, not in practice) will not touch any part of the plastic on the doll, so it should be ok, even though I am not sure what Glossy Accents will do to plastic over time.  My idea was that the glossy accents would dry into a glossy rubbery substance that will not be sticky, and allow me to stick the lashes in the Elmer's glue without them sticking to my hands.  Well, that seemed like it would work, except that when I put the head back together, the line of Glossy accents was too thick and it basically squished against the eyeball (eek!  My brand new eye chips!!) creating a sticky mess all over the eyeball, the lid, and the lashes.

What not to do: Covering the sticky side of the eyelashes in Glossy Accents

It took me over 30 minutes to clean up all traces of Glossy Accents and eyelash adhesive from the eyeballs and eyelids.  But those pesky little lashes were still sticky on the wrong side!  So I decided I could cut tiny strips of black tissue paper and stick the strips along the edge where the eyelash adhesive was.  Although this strip of paper should not be seen from outside the doll, I wanted it to match the eyelashes just in case I was messy and a bit of it showed.  It turns out, this idea did the trick and I was finally able to close up the doll.  Phew!

Here she is showing off her new pose-ability and shiny eye chips!

Before

After

Before

After

Introducing Luna (Pullip Tokidoki Luna)

December 19, 2013:
I was just getting into this hobby as Tokidoki Luna was selling out at all the online Pullip retailers.  She caught my eye right away, but I didn't realize she would be sold out so quickly, so I didn't make her one of my first purchases.  But luckily there are still a few floating around on eBay and I managed to nab one for not too much more than her last Pullip Style retail price.  My husband told me to get her for my birthday (along with Tomoe Mami, which I had already ordered at that point).  She arrived yesterday and here she is:

"Cute, Funny, Sexy? Sometimes, now word can fully describe? My charm it’s more than….Feel Like So."

Luna in her box

Her box is really pretty, and decorated with Tokidoki characters.  She comes wrapped in lots of plastic.  It took a while to unwrap her, especially being careful of her delicate ankles and wrists.  I will rebody her soon but I still didn't want her broken right out of the box!

Her faceup is so much nicer than I thought it would be!

She is so lovely... but wait until you see her unboxed!

Tokidoki Luna comes with a lot of stuff

Here she is:

Wearing her stock outfit and carrying her Tokidoki hand bag

Luna comes with her stock outfit (black sleeveless top with Stellina unicorn image, satin pink and black skirt with skulls and hearts, black and white striped stockings, faux-leather studded choker and bracelet, ankle-high boots, skull hat, black cotton short-shorts) as well as an extra Tokidoki printed top, a Tokidoki purse, a plush Tokidoki character, and a set of sticker tattoos.  I am saving her tattoos for her Obitsu body, so I will not show them here, but you will see them in the video below.

Just hanging out with her favourite things 

She does not come with the Tokidoki unicorn figure.  The purse also has a removable shoulder strap which is not shown in any of the photos.

Her beautiful faceup!

Luna has the most amazing faceup!  Her bangs cover her eyeshadow, but I show it in the video below.  She has pink and blue eye shadow and thick upper eyeliner with white highlighted painted eyelashes.  her lower painted lashes are black but there is a touch of yellow shadow under her eyes which I really love.  Her mouth is painted open with her teeth showing in a nice smile.  I love the creamy pink colour of her lips.

Her accessories (Unicorn not included)

Here she is without the skirt and wearing her extra Tokidoki top:

The top and purse are the same pattern

Her wig is really unique

I love her long straight hair.  It has an outer layer of blonde, with a layer of neon green underneath, and the very bottom layer is a bright blue.  It is so colourful and fun!

I really love her ankle boots but one of the studs came off :(

The 2 new girls on the block

Here is my unboxing and first impressions video for Tokidoki Luna:

Introducing Nikki (Pullip Tomoe Mami)

December 16, 2013:
I was ecstatic to learn that the first part of my birthday present was at the post office today!

Pullip Tomoe Mami

"I apologize but... I am going to make the SHOT!! ''TIRO FINALE''... Feel Like So."

Tomoe Mami was released in November 2011, and is based on a character from an anime and from what I've seen of the character, Groove really got this one right.  Pullip Tomoe Mami looks very much like the anime character she was based upon:

(Image found on the anime character database )

Her thick upper eyeliner and neutral lips are perfect!

 Tomoe Mami is beautiful!  I love her faceup, especially the thick upper eyeliner that really sets her eyes apart from most other pullips that I've seen.  I'm not into anime, but I love the look of her squarish eyes and it is the main reason I ordered her.  She comes with 2 outfits, the magical girl outfit that she comes in and a school girl outfit that is wrapped separately in the box.

Tomoe Mami in her box

Here are all the things she comes with: her card, her magical outfit (blouse, skirt, leg warmers, boots, corset, hat), her school outfit (fancy top, plaid skirt, tights, white shoes).  She also comes with a yellow stand and some metal flowers that apparently have some significance to the character's powers.  She also comes with a white padded push-up bra and panties.  Apparently Tomoe Mami is voluptuous.

Lots of goodies come in the box

She came with her arms and legs covered in plastic, so I guess her stock outfit is expected to stain her body.  I do plan to rebody her in an obitsu anyhow, which I will have to do sooner than later because her legs are very loose.  Anyhow, when I undress her, I will colour fast these clothes before storing them with my doll clothes.


I surprisingly like her wig a lot.  I was planning to rewig her right away, but I think I will leave her wig for awhile and enjoy her shiny, curly, yellow locks.  Her hair is a lot shiner than Io and Ally's stock wigs which are quite dull.

Ready for action!

Here she is in her school outfit, which I much prefer over the other outfit (especially since I'm not using her as the anime character she is based upon):

I am in love with that blue plaid skirt and the burgundy leggings!

Her top is very detailed!  I love the red bow, especially since it's Christmas time now.

Her faceup is so pretty with the orange blush and orange under eyeliner.

Thanks for taking a look at her.  Below is my unboxing and first impressions video:

Pullip Secrets (photoshoot)

I've been scouring Pinterest for some inspiration for doll photoshoots, and this is one photo I came across that I really wanted to recreate:

This is NOT my photo.  It was found on Pinterest, which linked to Buzzfeed, which cited Pinterest as the source, so it's hard to say who this photo belongs to.

I wanted to contrast the contrast the colours of my 2 dolls' hair, and I wanted it to be like a "yin and yang" type of concept, so I wanted their hair to go from one diagonal corner to the other.  I ended up rotating the position of the dolls by 90 degrees to get the feel I wanted.  After taking about a dozen shots, I'm really pleased with the results of one:

Secrets

Models: Ally, Suzette (Pullip Io rewigged)

Clothes: Dresses from Pullip Doll Dreams

Pullip Ally and Suzette decorate for Christmas

I picked up a little tree to make my craft room festive, and Ally and Suzette went to work on decorating it for me:

"rocking around the Christmas tree..."

Suzette can't decide where this blue one goes

Ally peeks from around the tree

Suzette: This blue one matches my eyes!

"Happy holidays everyone!"

Models: Ally, Suzette (Pullip Io rewigged)

Clothes: 

• Suzette: Barbie dress, Liv Doll sweater, Groove shoes and socks {British Nerd set}
• Ally: Dress and Blouse sewn by me, sweater from a Ty doll, Groove shoes and socks

Props: Christmas tree, decorations, tree skirt from Target; Step-stool is a container from Walmart

British Nerd Outfit (Groove) for Pullips

The other outfit I got from Groove was the British Nerd Outfit:

Suzette (Pullip Io) models the outfit for us today

I am loving the grid print on the shirt, and although I don't usually like large head pieces, I do like this bow hair clip.  The outfit also comes with 3 different bow pins that you can attach anywhere on the outfit.  Here Suzette is only wearing one of them, but they look cute lined up down the front of the shirt too.

All work and no play makes Suzette a dull girl!

The outfit comes with a men's-style shirt, denim shorts, socks, shoes, 3 pin-on bows, a black polka-dotted hair bow, glasses, and a Union Jack V-neck sweater.

The glasses that come with the set are adorable.

Here I have added a Liv doll mailbag which I think looks cute on her with the outfit!

The jean shorts are rolled up and the raw edge is not finished inside.

The sweater is really soft and has nice ribbing details in addition to the British flag pattern sewn onto the front with ribbon.  The outfit also comes with cute green ankle socks and white shoes.

 Overall I really love the quality of the outfit and the details on the items.  Below is a more in depth review of the outfit.  When you consider the cost of separate items like glasses, shoes, and sweaters, I think this set is a good value for the money spent, although it is a fairly high priced item all at once.

Coney Island Outfit (Groove) for Pullips

I splurged and got a few outfits from Groove (the company that makes Pullips).  The detailing on the clothing is beautiful and the outfits come with a set of shoes (I'm still working on getting some shoes to match the clothes I plan to sew my dolls).  Here is the Coney Island outfit modelled by Ally:

The dress without the belt

There is a video below that shows all the items that come with the outfit.  It comes with a red gingham dress, a removable polka dotted bow belt, an eyelet-trimmed under-skirt, a headband with a large bow, a denim jacket, lace trimmed socks, and a pair of red pumps that inevitably fall off Ally's Type 4 feet.

The dress with belt

Ally is so pretty, she deserves an Ally-centric shot.  It's not ALL about the dress :)

The jean jacket is beyond cute!  It has tiny beads sewn on as buttons, and it fits her perfectly (also fits my headless Obitsu body as shown in the video below).  The jacket isn't meant to close, and has 3/4 length sleeves.

The whole ensemble in all its gingham and polka dotted glory!

The detailed stitching on the jacket and working pockets are way too cute!

Cutest jacket ever!

I originally thought these outfits were over priced, but now that I have a few of them, I realize that for all you get, they are actually pretty comparable to other Pullip clothing.  There are so many pieces included and the quality is excellent.  Although you can find cheaper outfits, once you buy shoes, socks, and a jacket or sweater, you would be spending just as much if not more on a non-Groove outfit.  So as long as you'll actually use all the items, a Groove outfit is probably worth the higher price.  As a new collector, I still need things like socks and shoes, so for me this was a good purchase and I have already mixed and matched the items quite a bit.  I'm also glad that most of the pieces will fit the Obitsu body I have (see video below for more info on this).  If you would like to see more pics of pretty Ally modelling this outfit, check out my Flickr channel (link to the right)