Easter Gifts: Minibrands Books Series Two and Make It Mini Cinnamoroll Stationery Set

Mr. BTEG went out the Saturday before Palm Sunday to get an Easter basket and fillings for our two-year-old great niece. He also picked up a few small Easter gifts for our daughter and me. Mine included two mini balls, one from the Miniverse Books Series 2, and one from the Make It Mini Hello Kitty collection. I was very thankful that all three of the books that I received were ones that I like. I posed the books with mini American Girl Caroline, as I thought she was the closest to a reasonable scale. She was the easiest mini AG to get to, but then I realized it was perfect for her, as Sense and Sensibility would have been published in her childhood. I also got the candlestick, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a Hardy Boys book.

 

 

You can't tell which member of the Hello Kitty family you get until you open the ball, but Cinnamoroll is one of the ones that I like. This set seems to work well with the 8" Eden Madeline. You get a notebook to put together with included tabs and pages, a pencil case, a pen and ruler in plastic and cardboard packaging, and a cutting mat. The ball it came in can be used for display if you have the ball open. It's also cute with it closed.

These pictures are so poorly lit because I can't get to my photography table very easily right now, so I took them on my new craft table instead. I've mentioned before that Mr. BTEG and I have been rearranging rooms since our youngest daughter moved out. The master bedroom is becoming my computer/doll/photography/sewing/craft/art room. We finally moved our bed to the much smaller bedroom. Now I have to get the big bedroom organized, and move a few things left in the small bedroom to my craft/doll room. Here's a picture of my new computer and craft table set up, with my new doll display bookcases in between.

I hope you had a nice Easter holiday. We spent Palm Sunday with my in-laws, and Easter Sunday our daughter and her boyfriend came over for the day. It was all very enjoyable; I like spending time with family. We found out that we're going to have a new great-niece or -nephew later this year, which is fantastic!

I'm also announcing that I'm thinking about moving this blog to Substack. I won't charge a subscription; I just want to get off of Blogger. There's someone with an actual Blogger account who is spamming my comments every few days, and I can't figure out to block or report this person, nor can I get the attention of anyone at Blogger. I've tried WordPress in the past and it's not easy for me to figure out how everything works. I'll make an announcement here and post a link if I do make the move.

Mini Brands Retro and Little Tykes Minis

I've been overthinking photography ideas for the post that I want to make, featuring Barbie Basics Number 4. Mr. BTEG surprised me yesterday with a couple of the mini item balls, so I'm blogging about these, and then I'll settle down to get some good pictures of Number 4.

First is the Little Tikes toys mini ball. I got the dump truck and the recycling truck, in their own boxes.

I could have sworn that I took a picture of Kelly standing next to Barbie, to show another viewpoint of Kelly's size next to the toys, but I couldn't find it when I uploaded the pictures. I was having a difficult time with these tiny pieces. When the little people go in their seats in the trucks, they don't fit in firmly. They still roll around, so when you have one person in the truck, he can still fall out while you're trying to put his friend in. I gave up and laid most of the people flat.

As you can see, these toys are way too small proportional to Kelly, who can still possibly put things in her mouth and swallow them. They're not made to be necessarily one sixth, so it's not an issue. I do have smaller dolls who will love new toys.

The two balls are supposed to stack together with the shelf pieces provided, to make a display center. I can't get the top shelf into the holes to hold the two balls together. :(

 

Next are the Mini Brands Retro line. By retro, it looks like it means mostly the 70s and 80s. You get five mini pieces. I got some Energizer batteries, a floppy disc, a one-time use camera, a can of motor oil, and a box of candy. It seems the box of candy is an Ultra Rare item, which is too bad, as I would have liked other items from the Ultra Rare group better if I was going to find one. (A floppy disc was an 80s version of a thumb drive, kind of.)

The box of Mike and Ike candy is too big. As I remember, the candies themselves aren't much bigger than jellybeans. That would be a lot of candy! I guess it would look okay on a store shelf or at a movie snack bar. The floppy disk is a bit too large, but not as bad. I actually used these, so I have vague memories of how big they were. This kind was smaller than the ones before it, which actually were kind of floppy and could be ruined if you folded them accidentally, but the one I have would still look okay on a desk in an 80s computer lab. Time for a LAN party! (Now get off my lawn.) Everything else looks close enough to one sixth scale, considering we do have big batteries like these, and the camera fits her face reasonable well, although I didn't get a picture of it. To be honest, I don't know how big a old-school can of oil would be, but it looks okay. It would work on a shelf in a garage.

I know these aren't available everywhere. Anyone else out there who likes to collect these mini brands balls?

I've figured out how I want to photograph Barbie Basics Number 4, but then it occurred to me that since she is petite, I should see how other dolls' clothes fit on her, which will take more time. She's next on my list; however I didn't want to wait too much longer to get a post up. Hope you all in Tornado and Dixie Alley, especially RagingMoon, and all my other readers are faring well.

Light It Up

Monday's photo challenge theme was Fairy Lights. I have a lot of mini light strings, so this was fun for me. I love how this photo turned out. I used the Night setting on my phone, which holds the lens open longer to let more light in, to make items taken in dark conditions more visible. I think I have a similar setting on my camera, too. You do need to use a stand when taking photos like this; any movement at all will blur the photo.
 

Family

 

Another Instagram challenge photo. I'm not completely happy with it, but it's cute. It was a pain to tuck all those dolls under the blankets, and I'm also sorry that I didn't get a chance to put some items in the background.

New Artwork for the 1:6 Crowd

Wow, it has been a long time since I've posted. I just haven't had much interest in doll photography lately. I did put a lot of effort into cleaning up and organizing my doll crafting/photography area during August, so I was at least getting things done, although I've missed interacting with you all and getting stuff online.

Last weekend, Mr. BTEG and I went to an outdoor craft fair. One booth had a variety of poured acrylic paintings in various sizes, including tiny ones, just about the right size for Barbie artwork.

Cassie is enjoying a warm drink in the cooler fall weather, next to her lovely new painting. Canvases in this size are super cheap at the craft stores. I have some blank ones that I want to create something on; I just can't decide what would be "just right." Although now that I think about it, maybe a stylized pumpkin for the fall, and a pansy for another; pansies are my favorite flower. There were also mini easels being sold with the little paintings. I did buy one, but it's not the right proportions. I could probably make an easel, or just hang this on the wall. I didn't want to hang it this time, because I'm moving on to another photo shoot or two with this backdrop.

I may have to buy another ring light. I used my large "softbox" light for this shoot, and most of the photos turned out blurry, I think because of lighting issues.  I don't exactly like the composition of this, and some of the edges are blurry, but my goodness, I really wanted to get this shoot done. I also need to do some serious doll sewing. Cassie is wearing the only pair of long pants that I own for the Barbie group. 

Talking of cooler fall weather, as if right on cue, the temperature dropped about 30 degrees Fahrenheit on the first day of fall. Autumn is my favorite season, and it is rather glorious here right now. I hope that you all are doing well!

Second Doll and More Light Stand Photos

The previous spa doll was all about pampering. This Barbie is a fitness doll. She has bendable elbows, wrists and knees. I think she has the Bambi face mold, and different looks from the spa girl.

She comes with her outfit, two pink weights, two purple weights, a water bottle, a gym bag, a hoop, and the exercise mat. I'm not quite sure why the hoop was included. I know they're used for gymnastics, but gymnastics doesn't seem to be the theme here. The blue mat is just a thin piece of foam. It scratches easily and attracts little pieces of hair and dust like crazy. It came rolled up in a plastic clip, so it will take some time for it to lie flat. Fortunately, foam sheets are fairly inexpensive at the craft store, so the mat is super replaceable, or you can acquire more mats if you want to start a Barbie exercise class. :)

It's cute that the puppy is joining Barbie in her workout routine.

The gym bag is made of thin plastic. If you push the two sides together at the top, the bag opens up enough that you can put the weights and water bottle in.

The shoes have nice detail.

I think this doll is very pretty for a playline doll. She has at least two color tones in her red hair, and eyes of a nice shade of gray.

And now some more shots of the new light stand that I bought. It stands on a fairly sturdy tripod, and it has two places where the post can be extended or reduced to make the light taller or shorter. I haven't checked how high the light will go, but well over six feet, so I think it will be fine for all of my photography needs.

The actual light source consists of a curly lightbulb inside of a rectangular umbrella type frame. Then there is a white piece of diffuser fabric that attaches to the frame with Velcro. The frame measures 20"x27" (50.8cm x 68.58cm.) Neither Mr. BTEG nor I could find a way to turn the rectangle so the long side was at the bottom. I have to take care when I rotate the frame up or down, to make sure the frame's weight stays balanced.

This light stand wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be, so I'm glad I invested in something a little bit better to help my photography.

Reporting In

A short while ago, I realized that while I was busy with a lot of doll related activities, I wasn't creating anything to actually post. For example, I've been busy writing the next chapter of my story, and gathering items for it, but it's still going to take at least a few days before I can actually present it. I have a couple of new dolls that I want to share, but I need to take all the photos. It doesn't help that my camera got taken to use at my surprise 50th birthday party back in the middle of the month, unfortunately without Mr. BTEG realizing the battery was dead. I kept remembering to dig the battery out of one of the bags that went to the party, when I was upstairs, and the bag was downstairs. Now I have a recharged battery, so maybe I can get some pictures done tomorrow.

I also scared myself when I realized that not only do I have dolls that still need to be unboxed, which never used to be a problem for me, but I also have some dolls that I bought out of box, that I put aside to be washed and forgot about! :O I've got a lot of work to do! In the meantime, I guess I'll give you a picture of myself, Mr. BTEG, my daughters and my son-in-law at my party.

Plans for 2017

I looked over my New Year's dollie resolutions from 2016, to see how I did, and what I wanted to change or continue this year. Last year, I managed to post four times a month for the first half of the year. The second half of the year got really crazy, and there is still some chaos and stress at Casa BTEG, so I don't feel too awfully about meeting my posting goal for the whole year. I'm going to shoot for four posts a month again anyway. I like to keep this blog active.

I was planning to photograph my 10" Georgia doll, but she needed a wig, which I never bought. I also have a Patsy that I need to re-wig. I've never bought a doll wig before, and I keep second guessing which wigs would look best. There are also a *lot* of choices out there! I ought to make the wig thing a higher priority this year, so these dolls can be complete.

Of course, I wasn't sure last January that I would be buying much, and then I went crazy about Ever After High, as you'll see when I blog about one of my Christmas presents. It didn't hurt that most of the EAH dolls I bought were marked down, being older releases. I was thinking seriously about getting another Makie, but that didn't happen, after the company suddenly disappeared.

At least Meg has a lot of doll friends to play with.

Other than Ever After High dolls, I bought one curvy Barbie, one petite Barbie, two Star Darling dolls, and a discontinued LIV set that I bought mostly for the display window. Unless I fall in love with another doll line this year, my doll purchases will probably be down. However, I've also purchased some furniture, and a LOT of accessories like Re-Ment. That will probably continue in 2017.

I've found making time to sew doll clothes difficult. This is probably partially because of my depression issues, and partially because of a schedule which changes every day. I keep trying for big blocks of time to get sewing (or knitting) done; what I need is to do a little at time when I have the opportunity. For some reason, I don't feel motivated to go to my sewing table unless I can get a huge amount done at once. That's just holding me back.

I have a couple of construction projects that I want to begin, but we don't have space for me to take on a big project right now. Likewise, I've been trying to paint doll accessories in my sewing area, which involves a lot of moving things around. I'd like to set up a dedicated space for painting (which I will probably share with my husband and daughter, who paint gaming miniatures.) That crafting space won't be free until later in the year.

Lastly, I've been thinking about starting a running storyline here featuring my dolls! I have an idea that I'm trying to develop into a working plot; hopefully I'll get it started within the next month.

Photography!

Today I finally got the motivation to set up my new photography tent and lights, and get some pictures taken! The kit I bought starts with:
A large flat portfolio. This has two narrow pockets in the front, which each hold one of the lights. There is a larger middle pocket, which I suppose can hold the stand made to hold a cell phone, which was included. I won't be using a cell phone to take pictures, I don't think. My camera isn't professional quality, but is probably better than my cell phone.
Anyway, here's what one of the lights looks like from behind.

The metal stand at the bottom slides up into the cylinder, which makes the light very compact to store.

The white sides of the tent fold out of the portfolio and connect with hook and loop fastenings to make two sides and a top. The back of the tent is made up of the main portfolio case, which is black. I was too interested in getting pictures of dolls to take pictures of the case itself. The back of tent has a strip of hook and loop tape, to which you can attach a roll of nylon fabric for a backdrop. This set came with four rolls in different colors: white, black, navy blue, and red. Each roll has its own hook and loop strip, so it can attach to the back. I only took some pictures with the white backdrop today. I wanted to get some pictures up since it's been so long since I blogged, and I think it might take lots of time and experimentation to see what backdrops other than white look good with certain dolls or props. I think this pictures of Tonner Daphne gives you an idea of what the case looks like unfolded and set up.

I'm sorry that this photo came out blurry! But you can see the finished edges of the backdrop, and a little bit of the black case behind the white backdrop roll. My 16" Daphne sits nicely in here, but her head hit the top of the tent when I stood her up. However, I'm hoping I can use the lights to create nice effects without the backdrop, eliminating the shadows I get when I only use my window as a light source. I also won't have to depend on sunny days to get good lighting, which is good since winter and more cloudy days are coming here.

I decided to use my sole Liv doll as my main model. I happened to see the set on eBay which had this doll, plus a shop window, a mannequin, and some other props, for a good price. This is a good way to introduce her to you.

In the photo below, I experimenting with angling the lights downward, to see what that would look like. I haven't ever studied photography, so I'm probably going to do a lot more experiments to test effects.

And here's a close-up of Daphne's face, to show how well-lit and crisp of an image I can get.

I think it's a step up from the photo below, which only used the sunlight coming in from the window, and therefore created a shadow on her face. The photo above is far from what someone with real experience in photography could get, but it's a start for me. I can already see a few things I'd like to improve next time.

I'm also going to throw in a few pictures from my latest trip to Target, especially since one is time-sensitive. There's a 5% off sale on all Ever After High toys this week. This isn't a lot, although if you have a Red Card from Target, that gives you an extra 5% off, for a total of 10% off EAH stuff. I think Amazon prices are mostly better at this point, to be honest, but if you don't have Amazon Prime, you have to add shipping in there.

I should have put something in this picture for some sort of proportion. I'd say the box is not much taller than my hand, though. For only $3, you might want to take the opportunity to pick up some ornaments for your doll's tree.

Lastly, if you're a Disney Descendants fan, there are some Christmas ornaments of some of the characters. They seem like an odd choice to make, to me. The Barbie ornaments licensed by Mattel seemed to be focused more towards the adult collector. Are young girls so in love with the Disney Descendants characters that they will want them as Christmas ornaments as well as dolls? Maybe enough people watched the Disney Descendants movie that Disney thinks they will sell.

On the other hand, EAH ornaments from the Epic Winter movie might have been cute, with the winter theme.

One last thing, flickr member goche moche found some mini purse keyrings in the bags section of Target which are apparently a good fit for the 1:6 crowd. Check out her picture here!

Checking Out for a Few Days

Hello, readers! I just got my photography set-up that I ordered, but it'll be a few days before I can play with it. My sister-in-law just had surgery today on a badly broken ankle, and I'm going to spend a few days with her. I'll be reading everyone's blogs, but I might not be commenting. Is anyone making any dolly plans for Halloween?

The Difference New Clothes Can Make

My Tonner Ultra Basic Daphne doll from 2010 came dressed in a white one-piece swimsuit, as befits a basic doll, right? Only, I've been remiss, for various reasons, in sewing many new clothes for my dolls over the years, so poor Daphne has just been wearing her white suit. I still have plans to sew, but I also happened to buy a Tonner brand doll shirt recently, that to me just makes Daphne shine.

I couldn't find Daphne's original white suit. I've made big strides in cleaning up my doll stuff, but obviously I'm not quite there yet! So here's a picture of Daphne, modeling a necklace that I bought at the Tonner convention.

And here's Daphne now, wearing the new shirt that I bought (not at the convention), with a basic black skirt.
It may be more obvious in person (and with better lighting!) but I couldn't help but love how much more Daphne is a standout in her new shirt.

And it's also nice quality, with snaps up the back instead of Velcro.

So Daphne's happy, I'm happy, and the other girls want new clothes too! I'm looking forward to making that happen.

And since I'm talking Tonner doll clothes, I read online that Tonner 16" dolls can wear some of the Teen Trends doll clothes, so I decided to try it out. It seems Ellowyne dolls are more like Teen Trends dolls in figure, but Tyler looks nice in this skirt from Teen Trend Courtney's Night Out pack.

It's big at the waist, but would look nice with a pullover top of some type to cover that. However, I was having problems with the tulle trim at the bottom of the skirt. It is supposed to show, but I was having problems making it hang properly. Oh well.

I have my eye on a table top photo studio set on Amazon. It seems to be the best way to get proper lighting for my pictures. Thanks to blogging, I've been taking pictures of my dolls again, and just enjoying my collection more, so I'd like to have proper equipment for the photography now. Something new to try out!

A Walk in the Park

I've been a little out of it lately. I use a light box from about September through April, to help with my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Basically, when we get less sunlight here during these months, and the sunlight is less potent, my body wants to hibernate. A half hour or so sitting in front of my light box helps. But I hadn't been using it reliably, making me more tired and depressed. I'm trying to change that and get back to regular light box use.

ANYway. Meg and I went to a local park back on October 21st. This park is made for walkers, runners and bikers. There is a long paved path that takes you from one neighborhood to another, a paved path on one side which also takes you through one part to another of my town, and a dirt path. As it was a gorgeous day, there were lots of people out there enjoying the day, but no one seemed interested in what a middle-aged woman was doing taking pictures of a doll. Many people were friendly and said hello. Most of those people were walking dogs. A correlation perhaps?

The main path through the park. Doesn't this look like a magical place? I would like to get out here during the winter when there is snow on the ground and get a picture.

We found a few slender long branches (trees?) which had formed into arches. Meg discovered that the branch bounced up and down when it was pushed. She had fun "riding" it. If I weighed less, I would have enjoyed a little bounce as well.

The best place for photography, at least for me, came when we found a place where city park workers were clearing out trees. Not only did one of these large sawed up pieces make a great seat for Meg, there was a bench right next to it, which provided a comfortable seat for this middle-aged woman to take pictures. :)

We wanted to find some leaves that were more fiery, like Meg's hair, but this park didn't have a lot of those.

Lastly, a somewhat blurry picture of five does having their dinner in the park. Despite my area being suburban, there are an awful lot of wild animals around, including foxes and coyotes, of all things.

What I've been lacking is large blocks of time to go out and take pictures. This photo time was a rush job, done in between picking up my youngest daughter from school, and going out somewhere that night. Good planning and more energy will hopefully help with that. In the meantime, I do have some new doll purchases which need photo shoots of their own so I can show them to you. Do you find it hard to find time to set aside for doll photography? Or do you accomplish it in small bits?