Maaya (Latte) and Em (ALa) sportingnew wigs – Em even with a new body! – marking the first two “custom” girls of mine. While a change of wig and a new body doesn’t really equal customizing, I’ve really taken the plunge now, though: my desk is filled with wigs and body parts, open heads and faceplates, screws and tools. I even made my significant other come home from work to give me some sanding paper and help me saw down the neck peg on the newest obitsu body..! :D

I dropped by a craft store a couple of days ago, looking for Wilton’s icing colours for some cupcakes I’d promised my 9 y/o. Turned out, the store was in the process of moving, and they had a 75% off sales..! There wasn’t much left (I got the icing colours I was looking for, though!), but I was quite pleased with the things Smilla – my Chill – are showing off here. The felt fabric rolls were only $2.5 each! I foresee some nifty duffle coat for my girls..! The scrapbook paper is meant to be wallpaper (there are four sheets of each design).

And yeah, I’ve finally come around to naming my girls. Some are namesakes, some got their names “just because”.

Smilla is named after the main character of Peter Hoeg’s novel and the film by the same name. Keren is named after one of my favourite singer/songwriters; Keren Ann. Lisa is named after Lisa Kimmel Fischer from the TV series Six Feet Under.

Even though the very first, almost overwhelming, enthusiasm has calmed down a bit, I still spend a lot of time looking through eBay, Dolly Market and the Pullip LJ comm for "lesser loved girls" which I can offer a new home (not to mention all the accessories they can be spoiled with..!). My Latte who arrived last week will soon have a twin sister, I just jumped at the chance to adopt an Ala, and there’s even a boy coming along to keep the girls company (picture edited in below). There’s still one girl I’d like to get, a Squall, but after that I will pause the family expansion for a while. The others I’d like to have are too expensive, really – like Haute L.A. which is currently priced to well over $300 with most sellers..! For the next couple of months, my focus will be on sewing clothes and creating rooms/backgrounds, for photoshoots and perhaps even picfics. Besides thinking that Nomado, my first doll, may look like a "Lisa", I haven’t even named a single one of my girls – they all still go by their JP name… I haven’t made up my mind yet if they’re going to be Nordic names or international sounding ones.

Bonus pic above: Latte in a white fur wig which she was offered by yukittie over at PullipFiction. Like someone mentioned in my flickr stream: she pulls it off quite well because of the white details in her makeup as well as the white sparkle in her eyes. I could probably style it a bit better, but first I need to get some velcro to make it stick to her scalp (styling a loose wig turned out to be quite a frustrating experience..!). I’ve also purchased a Nina wig for her, which colour wise is a bit closer to her stock wig. She does look best with a high cut fringe, though, so we’ll see what she ends up with. Perhaps it’ll be the Aquel wig she came with, after all (see picture in previous post).

On my to-do list for this week: get some nice scrapbook paper to use as wallpaper, and collect the Barbie patterns book I’ve reserved at the library!

Even though the Pullips are all fairly similar looking, their faceup, eye colour, wig and stock outfit make them appear as different individuals. Some are made based on anime characters, some are based on fairy tales or childrens’ stories, some on celebrities, and some are just like you and me. It’s the natural looking ones which appeal the most to me, those with a subtle makeup and natural looking eyes. After having looked at the Pullip collection for a few weeks, I’ve found a few that I consider absolute favourites, and even one which I call my “grail” doll. That doll is Latte, a 2005 release with a stock outfit meant to mimic the whimsical style of the 80s. No shoulder pads or neon makeup, but the more artistic, bohemian look. Latte has had a slight rise in price,but is still affordable – just not the same month as five other dolls have been purchased..! However, when I came across Welly’s adoption post at the Dolly Market, for a re-wigged Latte in a different dress than her stock outfit, I just couldn’t let it pass. Luckily, she was happy to let me have her, and today she arrived! On the photo she’s just been unwrapped, and is sitting in the window sill taking a look at her new surroundings. I dug out a few of the McDonalds Dog Artlist dogs from my kids’ room, and this terrier seems to have found a permanent place with sweet Latte. :)

(I am also bidding on a stock Latte, MIB , but I suspect that my offer may be turned down. Crossing my fingers, but I won’t be heartbroken if it doesn’t happen at this time – a stock Latte _will_ come around sooner or later; I can manage the wait now that I’ve got her in “light” version! – and I got her, yay!! Twin Pullips ftw, lol..! And oatmeal for September…)

Every Pullip collector have a certain doll that they like better than all the other dolls. For me, that doll is Latte. Tonight, although having told myself to slow down with 5 dolls already purchased, I jumped at the opportunity to get my grail doll as user “Welly” at Dolly Market put her up for adoption.

Re-wigged, without her gorgeous stock outfit, but still: it was Latte, and for a reasonable price at that. Check the picture, how cute isn’t she, even with blonde hair? (Funny thing is, she’s got Aquel’s wig, meaning I will have “twin” Pullips when they both arrive!)

I called my partner and got his approval (and some money..), and paid for her earlier this evening. She will be sent from the UK, meaning it shouldn’t really take long before she’s here!

Now, absolutely NO MORE purchases in a good while..! Re-ment excepted, that is…