Eyes comparison part 2

A few more for comparison purposes.
Another hand painted head with light pink hair, I unfortunately cannot for the life of me remember what head is she She is a parabox neko head  -- bought her too long ago and her packaging did not say where she is from (oops), I painted 2 heads for a friend, she picked the other ^^
I think for this attempt the eyes is a bit lopsided :P (and maybe a bit too far apart?) so this poor head is in storage :P I may give her a different type of mouth in future maybe the :D mouth lol


So how I went about painting the face is -- using a fine brush, I "sketched" the eyes with diluted white acrylic paint, painted in the eye whites in first, then paint the darker colours over. I guess this step results in uneven surface seen on the close ups.

The rubber heads tends to stain if you use darker colour on it directly I find. But the "staining" method is good if you wish to apply blush to the doll ^^ (but it is a difficult technique to get right ^^; )

Right at the end when, I feel okay with the result I apply a clear/matt waterbased varnish over the eyes/eyebrows and mouth.


Below is a limited edition licca I found at Nakano Broadway last year, I named her Nakano lol
She has light pink pearl-ish lipstick ^^ she came with a cute school uniform which was unfortunately not very well made ^^;;;;;


An older picture of Nakano chan, and to see her other outfits here is her flickr set:



This poor Licca has her body "stolen" for one of my blythes :P purchased her from a friend in Singapore :D
she's actually quite pretty don't you think?




Please note: I do not own all of the vintage licca dolls in this post, Tibiloo had kindly offered to take pictures of her collection of different generations of Liccas for me to post here for comparison (Thank you!)


1st Generation Vintage Licca:




Lady Licca, looks similar to first generation face mould:



Blond Lady Licca:



1st Generation Repro (reproduction)



New Licca (between 1st and 2nd generation)



2nd generation vintage licca




3rd generation licca


Thanks for checking this out! :) I hope it might be of some help to identify some of the dolls out there ^^/

Eyes comparison

Inspired by this post on dannychoo.com, I decided to take some close up pictures of some of the dolls I have to compare the eye painting(s)

I painted 2 faces of my dolls before, and was often rather bothered by how the brush strokes shows up if I look closely ^^;

This is Koko, the doll I made before I acquired my Mamachapp doll :P



I made a Hagu doll, based off Hagu from Honey and Clover anime series :) Ugh need to find a better way to paint it neatly :P



Mamachapp doll also obviously factory painted (machine maybe?)



Just for good measure I include my 2 Licca chans ^^
This is the Vintage 2nd Generation licca



This is a repro 2nd generation :) I may try to repaint her lips as I find her lips a little bit too bright ^^;



Haruhi Nendoroid, different material base doll, but I thought to include her for comparison as well.
Her eyes obviously are factory applied, there's even dithering in the iris part.




I am missing some of the more current liccas which I have (oops) maybe next time :)

Tutorial: Xmas Stockings - Printer Free Version!

Time sure flies! We know Christmas is coming very soon by all the decorations around, and Christmas themed music playing at the malls and such!

Make some Xmas Stockings for your dolls!

1) First borrow a leg from your blythe doll, and sketch a loose "stocking" shape around it.


2) Use a pen to draw the final shape of the paper pattern.


3) Cut out the pattern, the top part is optional, you can use a lace bit for that part as well.


4) Cut out an assortment of the materials you wish to use. I am using some felt and lace trim for this tutorial. This is also the time to add stuff like embroidery or decorative beads.


5) Start a blanket stitch, poke the needle through from the underside of the top piece, sewing until up to the slight bend.












6) Position the lace trim on the edge of the "hole" of the socking, sewing the edge of the lace under the underside of the stocking.


7) Sew the top of the lace around the "hole" of the stocking with small stitches, and the other edge of the lace behind the underside of the stocking. End the stitch at the underside (as shown in picture below)


8) Continue sewing around the stocking from where we left off at the "bend" until you reach the other end leaving the "hole" of the stocking open. Add a ribbon loop by hand stitching to the inside of the stocking. I used bits of 3mm satin ribbon approximately 8 cm long.


Completed!


Use your imagination to make a great assortment of Xmas stockings, feel free to do it in any size you like! Make some for your dolls or your friend's dolls!



Have a Very Merry Xmas!!!

Tutorial: Halloween Paper Wings - Printer Free Version!

Happy Halloween!
I realized that not everyone has a working printer at home, so I came up with a step by step tutorial to make a customized "printer-free" template if you wish to make some wings in a similar fashion from the previous tutorial. You can use your imagination to create some unique wings for your dolls, even after halloween! :)

1) To make the template, draw a line using a ruler and pencil near the side of a piece of paper.


2) Make 2 markings of about 2 cm apart on first line, leave some space to draw the wing around later on.


3) Draw a line approximately 1.5 cm perpendicular to the first line, originating from the lower marking.


4) Draw a line approximately 1.3 cm perpendicular to the top marking of the first line.


5) Join the ends of the 2 shorter lines, you can draw dashes to represent a fold line later on.


6) Draw a line about 1 cm long with 2 shorter strokes at the end to represent the "slits" to be made.


7) Draw shape of the wing you would like to create for your doll(s) It can be any other shapes you can think of :) Let your imagination run wild!


8) Now you have your very own paper template! It will be even more special, if you have created it using your own ideas ;)


9) Cut out the wing template and continue from step 3 of the previous tutorial!

Make some for your own dolls, or as a present for your friends' dolls! :D
Have a great Halloween!

Tutorial: Halloween Paper Wings

Halloween is approaching fast! When I saw what puchicollective had came up with for the festivities, I was very inspired! With permission, I present to you this little freebie from puppy52doll as well :)

Hopefully this pictorial tutorial will allow you to make a little something for you and your dolls' enjoyment!

This template will fit blythes, Lati yellow and dolls with similar shoulder size and height.

1) Save this template onto your computer, and print it out using a picture editing program.

2) Pick one design and cut it out, or cut all of them out ;D

3) Have a selection of card stock or vanguard sheet ready, regular paper may be a little too soft for this purpose. I am using a plain card stock for easier demonstration.
I am also using a selection of 3mm satin ribbon, but you can use any type of decorative ribbons as well.

4) Fold the card of choice and position the template on the fold of paper where it is marked.

5) If you're impatient like me or have a steady hand, you can carefully cut around the template while holding it in position, or if you do not feel so confident, trace with a pencil the shape of the "wing" then cut it. Erase the pencil marks later on.

6) Using a pen knife or exacto knife, carefully cut the through the template and card along the numerical order and direction of the numbered red arrows as seen on the picture below; to make slits for the ribbon. Remember to use a cutting mat or something thick to protect your work table!

7) After the slits are made, thread the ribbon (around 35-40cm long, trim the excess later if neccessary) through the holes. The 2nd picture shows the ribbon positioning better.

After adjusting the ribbon, it will look like this.

When worn on a Lati yellow, it will look like this at the back.

another view

A different pair of wings on a blythe doll.

At completion, you can the decorate the wings with stickers beads or even drawings -- use your imagination. Have fun and be safe on Halloween!

Tutorial: Sewing a Simple Camisole

This is a pattern for Blythes. It is one of the first patterns I made when I got my first blythe! The end product will fit Licca dolls or similar size dolls as well.

1) Save this pattern onto your computer, and print it out using a picture editing program.


2) To make sure your print out is the right size, measure with a ruler to check if the line near the fold line is 5.5 cm.


3) Cut pattern out.

4) Place fold line of pattern on fold of fabric.

5) Holding the pattern on the fabric, cut around fabric carefully with a sharp scissors around the pattern.
Important: do not cut the fold!

6) Variation: If you place the bottom of the pattern along the edge of the fabric which doesn't fray, you do not need to sew that part later on.
The edge of the fabric I used has a furry white trim for this instance, this variation can be applied on a fabric with a lace edge as well.

7) Sew zig zag stitch around the seam allowance, this helps prevents fraying.

If needed, trim off any excess "fly away" threads.

8) Tip: Before sewing the top stitching, press the seam allowances in place, this makes it easier to sew the top stitching.

When sewing a topstitch, use an unpicker to help tuck corners down where our fingers cannot.
Our fingers are too big to hold those tricky bits in place while it moves along under the pressure foot of the sewing machine.

Tip: Practice sewing very slowly on scraps of cotton before doing it on the actual piece.
Have your hand ready to stop the handwheel of the sewing machine especially when nearing the corner.

the other corner

This is how the front of the bodice should look like when top stitching completed.

9) Position the strap by aligning it closely to the paper pattern (for this case, we use a skinny satin ribbon for the strap) and secure it temporarily with a pin.

10) Hand stitch the strap in place.
Hand stitching is helpful for details which require precision.

11) Leave enough length as Halter ties, for a simple halter top and sew on fasteners - dolly velcro, or snaps.

Snaps are more commonly found in craft stores.

12) To attach the straps with precision, position each strap on the doll with pins. I would recommend sewing the fastenings at the back last.

Tops completed! :D Feel free to add lace or buttons, or even pockets as desired!

Final product on a blythe doll. Please note, this is just a "how to" and only one way to make a simple top, there is definitely many different way to make and present it. I hope it helps if you wish to try your hand at something simple for your blythe or licca dolls! :D