Well, I used my $50 Google adwords coupon from my web hosting service to promote Dolly Post. It is a new Asian ball jointed dolls forum. Actually it is the replacement of Ethereal Angels Forum and started around the end of May. Instead of just upgrading and keeping everything, I decided to just start new and with a new domain too. So if you see Dolly Post ad on the right hand side when searching about bjd on Google, do not be surprised. I check in on Dolly Post whenever I can to help keep it going. The beginning is the hardest part, specially getting people to register and participate since we do not really have any kind of big exposure like in a doll magazine or anything. I made it my browser homepage so I can keep up with things otherwise I might forget to check in for a couple of days.
Dolly Post has a very small number of members currently. Hopefully we will have more soon. I do not mind it being small as long as the few members we have are fairly active. Smaller groups usually have a more intimate feel and better camaraderie because you get to know each other better.
Anyway, Gumdrops March pre-order are not all finish so I can not do face ups on my dolls yet. We are getting late on the orders again. *sigh* I wish there is an easier and faster way for us to make the eyes. But we just keep on going and soon they all shall be finished.
After the eyes are done, I plan to take 2 weeks off and do face ups on my dolls and just have lots of fun with them. It has been a long time since I have done face ups and I miss it.
Also finally ordered and sent payment for Alice in Labyrinth Daryl and Bertram. AiL said they will be shipped in a few days. It says on their website that they will be releasing their white skin version heads. Not really fond of white skin and I much prefer the normal skin. Dollstown 15girl body or 13girl body might be a match for Alice and Chloe.
Ever took photos and it turns out to have a bluish, reddish or yellow cast to it? I have had this problem on and off with my photos. It has always been a hit or miss type of thing. From my old beat up Kodak 2 megapixel camera to the current Canon camera we have now. This problem has plagued me forever and I did not know how to correct it until a couple days ago.
I always shoot in raw file format now and my Canon camera came with this bundled software called Digital Photo Professional(DPP). In the sidebar under white balance there is an eye dropper to sample an area that should be white. This will adjust the white balance correctly assuming your exposure is correct. Yes, I have now just found out about it and I have this camera for almost 1 year now.
DPP
White balance correction can also be done with Adobe Photoshop. A raw file is not necessary for this. Open up a photo that needs correcting then click Image>Adjustment>Levels. Choose the middle dropper and sample an area of your photo that should be gray. This should adjust the white balance correctly assuming your exposure is correct. You only do this if you do not have a gray card. If you do have one, take a photo with your gray card. The gray card does not need to occupy a large portion of the photo. It just need to be visible. Then do the steps mentioned.
Note : It is really preferable to use a gray card for white balance adjustment in Photoshop for accuracy.
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe White Balance before and after
In the photo of Danica above, I sampled an area that I thought should be gray with the middle dropper in Photoshop. It is not the perfect coloring I think but you can play around with the dropper until you get the white balance as close to real life.
Yes, today, Alice, Elijah and Chloe came! The postman delivered them this morning before 10am. I like getting EMS mail. They are always delivered earlier than regular mail.
The heads are exquisite. They do not have faceups but already they look beautiful. It is very exciting to receive dolls made by a newer company. Or in this case, doll heads made by a newer company. The postman must think we are so weird for ordering only doll heads as it says so on the customs forms, “Doll heads - Qty. 3″.
AiL dolls have smaller eyes than most Asian ball jointed dolls I have seen. All these 3 uses 14mm eyes. Their quality is really very good and they have magnets on their headcaps just like Volks Super Dollfie. Their faces have an old world look to them. This is a big plus as I love these type of dolls so much. They remind me of Koitsukihime dolls. Oh and Alice in Labyrinth bjd is made in Japan too. So it is good that there is another ABJD company in Japan besides the well known Volks that can ship international.
A quick photo
I am placing my order for Daryl and Bertram this week. I will not be able to paint all these heads though until around the end of July as I am currently finishing this order of Gumdrops eyes. There are a lot of dolls I have to paint. One of them had been waiting almost a year now to be painted. It is my Hahanbi by Hypermaniac. I ordered her with no faceup and she has been in her bag since the day she arrived last year in July. Then there are my 2 U-Noa kits I got last December, Heath, U-Noa Zero and the new AiL heads. It is about a year now since I last repainted a doll. I am bit rusty I think and need more practice. The production of eyes has taken over my time. I want to catch up with my dolls so I am trying to finish the orders on time.
Too bad that Narindoll only recently released their urethane ball jointed dolls. I would have loved it if my Narae, Lorelei, was made of urethane. The new tanning urethane option is specially lovely. Because of her French resin-ness, I have considered selling my girl for I do not know how many times now. I am afraid of her changing color but then every time I take her out of her box I just could not do it. Her face is just so gentle and serene. How could I ever part with her?
French resin is really beautiful but it is known for turning yellow after only a short period of time like 2 years or sometimes sooner. My Narae stays in her box when she is not being played with. Only comes out for re-dress and photo session. This is fine with me as most of my bjds stay in their own boxes anyway but it is the thought of her turning yellow that makes me cringe. On her certificate it says she was made on the 15th of May 2007 so she is over a year old. She has not changed color at all. Maybe it is due to her being in her box all the time. I love her anyway. She is the classic type faceplate. Such a delicate, beautiful mold. Narin doll Narae is truly a classic beauty.
Lorelei had her pictures taken very early this morning. She is wearing shirt by Brennil, skirt by dollwearbystaci, wig by me and 12mm Gumdrops eyes.
* Photos may not display properly with resolution of 1280×768 and below. *
I know it is a bit weird to get so attached to ball jointed dolls. I never sold any of mine. Well, I did sell one ball jointed doll a while back but I bought her specifically to do face up on and then sell. It was a Lishe by Cerberus Project. It was hard because I loved that Lishe so much after I was done with her but I had to keep my promise to sell her. I never bought another doll to be repainted and sold after that. I just can not do it. Maybe when I get bored of the hobby then I will have a change of heart and sell all my bjds. But it is not going to be anytime soon I think.
I check in on Dolly Post whenever I can to help keep it going. The beginning is the hardest part, specially getting people to register and participate since we do not really have any kind of big exposure like in a doll magazine or anything. I made it my browser homepage so I can keep up with things otherwise I might forget to check in for a couple of days. 
It says on their website that they will be releasing their white skin version heads. Not really fond of white skin and I much prefer the normal skin. Dollstown 15girl body or 13girl body might be a match for Alice and Chloe.
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Then there are my 2 U-Noa kits I got last December, Heath, U-Noa Zero and the new AiL heads. It is about a year now since I last repainted a doll. I am bit rusty I think and need more practice. The production of eyes has taken over my time. I want to catch up with my dolls so I am trying to finish the orders on time.
She is wearing shirt by Brennil, skirt by dollwearbystaci, wig by me and 
