Saturday, November 7, 2015

Secrets of Woodside Issue 5: She Blinded Me With Science

(Previous Issue: Just a Girl)
SoW Issue 5 Page 1 SoW Issue 5 Page 2 SoW Issue 5 Page 3 SoW Issue 5 Page 4 SoW Issue 5 Page 5 SoW Issue 5 Page 6 SoW Issue 5 Page 7 SoW Issue 5 Page 8 SoW Issue 5 Page 9 SoW Issue 5 Page 10

*Please leave me a comment below if you have any questions or comments!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------


(Previous Issue: Just a Girl)                       Next Episode: Coming soon!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Secrets of Woodside Ep 5 BTS

Suri and Neela at work
Sneak Peek into Scene 1 of Episode 5: These 2 are working on a top-secret project for the World Security Bureau
Episode 5 is going to take a bit longer to assemble than usual, because it requires more elaborate sets and prop work than usual.  So far I've only completed one scene, but it has been a lot of fun and very rewarding to finally be telling this part of the story!

Bts WSB lab
First I had to find lab-coats, and make and laminate ID badges.
Bts WSB lab
Then I had to modify my kitchen island to look like a lab counter and gather some other supplies 
I used a piece of glossy paper to serve as a wall-mounted white board and found some sciencey things to write on it with sharpie markers.  The science lab set is from my daughter's American Girl doll room. I also gathered some office-themed Rement pieces and printed up a WHMIS poster.  I'm using Timulus and Wayne's goggles as safety glasses for this scene, and Wayne's bullet proof vest will be worn by Jax, who is a field agent in between assignments in this episode.

Bts WSB lab
Because this episode takes place in the backstory, I had to re-wig and re-dress my dolls.
I have to be careful of little details, like Jax's necklace needs to be on Jax, not Suri (since he hasn't met her yet, nor died yet, and she hasn't received his personal effects that include his necklace :)  I also have to make sure I cover up his "Suri" tattoo in flashbacks. 

Bts WSB lab
BTS shot
I wanted this scene to have a clinical feel to it, so I opted for minimal furnishings and no decor, aside from the WMIS poster.  I used my plain yellow walls as the walls of the lab and my plain white table top as the floor.  It made for easy set-up and it looks nice and stark.

It took me half my day off to make and gather everything and shoot this scene.  The next scene will be even more elaborate, so it may take even longer... but we are about to see how Suri and Jax met, so I hope it will be worth it!








Monday, October 19, 2015

Introducing Kai (*swoon*)

Introducing Kai

 This bad boy joined the doll shelf last week. His name is Kai, and he is a Taeyang Hitsugi, another from the Nightmare collaboration set, of which I already had Ni-Ya (who I call Dominic). Kai has such a dramatic, unique look, he really draws you in.

  Introducing Kai

He has this amazing dark brown hair with white, blonde, and red pieces, with lots of long braids, and various layers.

Introducing Kai

He has multiple piercings on his face, which gives him a real badass look.  I really like how he contrasts with Dominic's look.  Dominic (Taeyang Ni-Ya, see photo below) has tight leather pants, and quite a "pretty boy" face.  Dominic is quite a vain womanizer, while Kai is a bit of a free-spirited hippie who expresses himself through his style as well as his music

Introducing Dominic

Dominic (Taeyang Ni-Ya joined the family this summer)
Never the shy one, Kai immediately began recruiting other dolls to join his band. It's not surprising that Dominic was easily persuaded to take the position of lead vocals.  Luna surprised us all by volunteering as drummer.  Who knew she could play drums?

Band



Band
So far the band is looking pretty good, but what they really need is a name!



Band
I have a feeling Dominic is going to enjoy the spotlight
Band
Luna might be crushing on Dom a bit!

Behind The Scenes #bts #dollphotography A photo posted by Mercy Tiara (@mercytspullipdreams) on


Check out this post on the Pullips and Junk blog that shows how the Nightmare dolls compare to a photo of the real Nightmare band

And my video review of Kai (Hitsugi):

Monday, September 14, 2015

Here is that Unboxing/First Impressions video of Dal Lyla, who I have renamed Wren:

I really love this doll, and think she is the perfect compliment to my 2 witches!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Witchy Doll Shelf

So obviously, I can't have the other-worldly dolls mingling with the general Pullip population (because that would be complete mayhem!), so naturally, I needed to find some dedicated space for my newest creepy residents.

This space is conveniently free (upon the moving out of my husband... from my craft room, not from my life!):

Before
I started with a plain shelf and a piece of purple sparkle fabric

I sewed a hem around the perimeter of the fabric, then used my trusty hot glue gun to stick the fabric to the edge of the shelf above.  Here is a shot of it almost fully glued in place:
Witchy doll shelf


Then I used more of that amazing hot glue stuff to stick the fabric to the ceiling of the shelf where my dolls will live.  Here it is, again almost fully glued in place:
Witchy doll shelf

With the ceiling and back wall covered in purple fabric, I played 3 floor tiles on the floor of my doll shelf (these are left-over porcelain tiles from my kitchen floor).  This step is not pictured.

Then I took a piece of foam-core board and covered it in Halloween scrapbook paper (I have a few pieces of scrapbook paper lying around my room).  I also decorated it with Halloween trim from my scrapbooking supplies and used friction and a book-end to hold it in place as a second wall.  The wall provides a nicer background than my craft bins.  The fabric doesn't lie flat because of the kind of brackets these shelves use, but I kind of like the drapey look.
Witchy doll shelf

I ran out of time so I basically just shoved my dolls in there along with a wicker bench that I covered in this fancy sequin fabric (I just wrapped it and draped it over the bench, it's not permanent).  I have a few props that I plan to make, and a few I will buy from the Halloween decor section at a store.
Witchy doll shelf

I love that they have their own little den!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Witches of Woodside

Some creepy new inhabitants have taken over a section of my scraproom of late...

Introducing Paige, my Pullip Midnight Velvet:
Introducing Paige

I've wanted a witch Pullip ever since i started collecting in 2013.  Wilhelmina was new then, and I have always wanted to collect witch dolls (every Halloween I was tempted to buy one- even before I knew about Pullips), but I didn't want my first doll to be such a specific one, so I ended up passing on Willy.  But now that my collection is more established, I feel like I can now branch out and gather a small sub-collection of darker, other-wordy dolls.  Wilhelmina was actually not the first one I chose- it was this beautiful Midnight Velvet, who I named Paige.

  Introducing Paige

Her face-up is stunning and I find she has a very kind-looking face, which I think is a perfect contrast to her malificent-like stock outfit.  Paige is a level-headed, responsible witch, who takes her role seriously, and does not like to cause unnecessary harm to anyone.

Shortly after Paige arrived, a larger box appeared on my doorstep, and Evening and Savannah were added to the otherworldly shelf.

Meet Evening, my Pullip Wilhelmina:
Evening (Eve)

She is strikingly gorgeous.  If I had to give up every doll but one, I think she would be the one I would keep.  I literallly can't take my eyes off this beauty (ok, maybe not literally... but you know what I mean!).  I love taking these dark moody photos of her, and my husband/our resident photographer gave me some good tips that will make my photos even better (hopefully) next time, so I am really excited to work with this crew.

It's my blog and I'll photo spam if I wanna, so:

Evening (Eve)
gasp!  those huge eyes!
and...

Evening (Eve)
there is nothing I don't love about her!

Evening, who allows her closest friends to call her Eve, is a lot more hot-tempered than Paige.  She is prone to ranting, raving, and rampaging.  She definitely holds a grudge, and I wouldn't want to be the poor soul to cross her (or be anywhere near the poor soul who crosses her, for that matter).

Then along with Evening, came Savannah (edited: changed her name to Wren), my Dal Lyla, who is a ghost:

Savannah
I was trying to make it look like she was looking through a dirty window, trapped inside.  I didn't succeed.  I will wait for more soap build up on my shower door and try again with different lighting (finally, a reason to NOT clean!).

Savannah
This photo isn't very crisp, but isn't she a cutie?

Savannah
I love her pouty little face!
Savannah Wren is a bratty old soul, trapped in the ghostly body of a teenager.  She is mischievous and demanding, but also quite sad to be stuck here on earth for eternity.  Paige and Evening have taken her on as their own, for better or for worse.

Eve, Paige, Savannah



Savannah


Midnight Velvet Unboxing and First Impressions:


Wilhelmina Unboxing and First Impressions


Dal Lyla unboxing video coming soon!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Introducing Imani, Bianca, and Simon!

I've never received more than one doll at a time, so it felt like Christmas Day when these 3 dolls arrived on my doorstep!





Monday, August 3, 2015

Secrets of Woodside Episode 4: Just a Girl

Episode 4 of Secrets of Woodside is done and posted!

I created these music videos because the mood of the song is important for the story, but if you prefer traditional pic-fic style storytelling, below you'll find the photos and a bit of text to explain the story.

*tap tap tap*

*tap tap * smirk* tap tap*

*tap tap *gasp?!* tap tap tap*

*tap tap* (I got a Tokidoki hat!)

*tap tap tap* (k, ttyl)

Let's see how it looks!

Oooh!

I love it!  

And it's in my new favourite colour!

From outside Rae's room: *knock knock knock*

Nikki:  "Hi, honey!  Oh- interesting hat!"

< here we go... >

Nikki: "Is that what you spent your allowance on?"
Rae: *tap tap tap tap*

Nikki: "where are you going?"

Rae: "Out." *tap tap*
Nikki: "Out where?"

*ugh!* "Just OUT, mom!"
*tap tap tap*

Later that day, Rae invites her friend Ven over to hang out.


Ven: "Wow, this is your room, huh? It looks like my little sister's dream room!"
Rae: "I know, right?"



Rae: *tap tap tap*
Ven: "Don't you have something better to put up on your walls?"

Rae: "yeah, I think I do, actually"
*hoping nothing big happens while the phone is on the table*

Rae: "This kitten one comes down first"

Ven: "yeah, who likes kittens anymore?  They're so 2014!"

Rae: "What do you think of this- I made it myself"
Ven: "It's totes cray-cray!"

Rae: <wait, is that a good thing?> "Um, ok, I'll put it up here"
Ven: "And what's with all these stuffies? Did you have a baby visiting you?"

Rae: "uhh... no.  I've been meaning to get rid of those..."

Rae: "uhh... into the drawer they go.  My mom will take them to goodwill tomorrow"

*shut*

*peel*
Rae: "Off with these babyish stickers too"
Ven: *tap tap tap* 

*tap tap tap* (posting pics of new room to Instagram)

*tap tap* (Tweeting about new room)

 From outside Rae's room: *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*


Nikki: "Honey, I'm going out again tonight with Cedar"

Nikki: "You remember Cedar, right?  You met him last week..."

Rae: *silence*

*SNUB*
*more silence*

Nikki: "ok, well bye sweetie... I'll be home by 10:30"

10:30 that night:

Nikki: <when she sleeps it's like she's my baby again...> *sigh*

Nikki: "oh wait.  What's that?"

Nikki: <I remember when I got her this stuffy for her birthday...>



Nikki: (whisper) "You'll always be my sweet angel"

Nikki: *sshhhh!*





Rae: "zzzz"

To see previous episodes, check out the Secrets of Woodside tab at the top of my blog!