Niobe gets a new hairdo

I had painted my Onyx mannequin's face a few months ago, and named her Niobe, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with the job I had done, until I changed her hairstyle. I feel like this one brings out her personality much better:








I still may redo her eyebrows at some point. 

New props and furniture

Sofia shows off my new props - found at Michaels:



Wooden easels with mini stretched canvas - come in packs of two for $5. Brush not included.


Decorative ceramic plates in a variety of designs for $1 each. I chose my three favorite patterns, but there were more. All in brown or green or orange:





I couldn't pass them up! :p  

I also want to show off my new (or newly finished) furniture from my very talented sister. First, my two sets of twins show off the bench I purchased at Hobby Lobby several years ago, which has now been stained a deep mahogany, and varnished. Snow-White and Rose-Red are also wearing two of my favorite gowns, by Tonner and Ashton-Drake, respectively:



Amyera and Milana model two of my favorite coats, both by Tonner:




Next, two lovely ladies show off not only my new trunk that my sister carved, painted, and stained, but also two of my favorite factory dresses, which were both gifts from the Prego Secret Swap in the last two years.

Niobe is probably never taking off this dress (by Tonner), from Sue in IN:



And Brianna loves her dress (also by Tonner), from Q:



How about a close-up of my sister's awesome carving skills:


 
Told you she was talented!  She also carved and stained my lotus dresser, you may recall.  

And just for fun to show off the inside, Nandini in a gorgeous dress by GinO:  

 

This trunk will also come in quite handy to store all my new props!   

Just for fun - skin tone comparisons

My last post got me thinking about all the different skin tones of dolls I've collected, so I decided to get one of each of them together for a group shot.



I love comparison shots. :p  

Here's a closer view:


Left to right: Sayuri (Alabaster), Illeya (Cameo), Milana (Pale), Jordan (Tan)


Left to right: Nandini (Caramel/Honey), Djali (Spice), Amaya (Dark), Niobe (Onyx) 

These photos were taken during the day, with flash.  

I love variety in the dolls I collect, and I'm glad that Tonner creates so many different kinds of dolls, so almost everyone can find something that they like.  And he listens to collectors.  People requested an Antoinette doll in the Kagiso (Onyx) skin tone, and he gave us one!  How cool is that? 

A look back at 2010... plus a bit of rambling

Once again, in the past year, I've more than doubled my doll collection. At the beginning of 2009, I had three Tonner dolls. At the beginning of 2010, I had a total of nine. In the last year, I've collected eleven more! I got them all together for a group shot, to ring in 2011:



They are quite an eclectic mix, aren't they? From left to right, we have: Cecelia (Central Park Stroll Sydney), Celeste (Ultra Basic Jac), Illeya (Death Becomes Her), Marguerite (Basic DeeAnna 2009), Niobe (Onyx Antoinette mannequin painted by me), Marisol (Snowflake Ballerina), Djali (Emphatic Antoinette), Sofia (Ultra Basic Daphne), Sayuri (Spring Dance Sayuri on all-white body), Amyera (Ultra Basic Golden Stella), and Milana (Ultra Basic Raven Stella). 

I've added four new skintones (Alabaster, Cameo, Spice and Onyx) and four new body types (Antoinette, DeeAnna, flat feet and small bust) to my collection this year, so by this time I have one of almost everything Tonner has to offer!  I like a wide variety in my dolls.  For example, I now have eight different skintones and thirteen different hair colors among my twenty Tonner dolls.  

I have also decided that I am sorely lacking in man dolls.  I have exactly one, and I never play with him.  A) He's awaiting a makeover that I can't afford yet, and B) He has almost no clothes.  I can easily fix the latter problem, and I have lots of ideas and fabrics set aside for male clothes.  I guess that'll be my New Years resolution.  :p  

I also realized when setting up this group picture that there are a couple of new dolls on my shelf that kind of stick out like two sore thumbs when they're all grouped together like this.  Well, Illeya blends in a little better than I originally thought she would, but Sayuri definitely looks out of place.  Thinking about her, and the fact that now I want at least two more geisha dolls, I came upon a happy solution to both of the above problems.  

Clearly, I need a Doctor Who/David Tennant doll.  And a Tardis.  I mean, The Doctor travels through time and space, right?  So if I had him, suddenly a geisha doll makes sense in my collection.  And I've always wanted to add more historical costumes to my dolls' wardrobe, like Victorian gowns, Medieval and Renaissance dresses, Colonial and Civil War era gowns, etc.  I have rather ambitious dreams.  And if I had a Doctor doll, I wouldn't need to worry about any part of my collection fitting in with any other part.  I can just plug The Doctor into any scene I wish to create, and it'll make sense!  He'll be the glue holding it all together.  Plus David Tennant is just gorgeous.  Ok, time to start saving pennies...  :D 

Gorgeous Geisha

My latest girl is the lovely Sayuri, from Tonner's Memoirs of a Geisha collection. She was given an all-white body by her previous owner (thanks Sonya!) which I think is a vast improvement. She also came to me with no lipstick, so I took the liberty of making her lips rounder and poutier than they had been originally. This is the first time I have gotten a doll who will keep her original name, though. Come to think of it, Sayuri is my first Tonner Character Figure!

But enough with the introductions. It's time for pictures! I don't think this girl can take a bad picture (unless it's blurry, but then that's my fault :p).





I love her gloriously long hair! 







 
 
I love this girl! I think she is one of the most beautiful dolls that Tonner has ever made. Of course, I think that about pretty much every new girl I get. :p

I made the kimono from an old handkerchief, and now I finally have an Asian doll to wear it! I need to get started on a full geisha wardrobe for her. New Year, new projects. I love it!