hi, I'm Jack. I collect ABJD dolls, so that's why I am interested in dollhouses.

[savagedolls]

Hiya. I'm really new to dollhouses still, I have only been photographing them for a year and a half, so I still have the "honey moon" phase thing going on! :-)

I'm Jack and I am 26 years old. I collect BJD (ball-jointed dolls,) so that's kinda how this interest of mine peaked!

Last August, I found a Fisher Price toddler's plastic dollshouse in the trash. It seemed lonely, so I humored my wife & we brought it home & rinsed it off.

Ironicly, a bjd we had then was just small enough to move into her home.

Since then, I've given my Fisher Price home away, purchased a 'Calico Critter' town house, furnished it, and now I've purchased my first DIY lightbox house & furnishing, wallpapers, etc., for my 1/6 dolls.

I am super happy with the idea of starting from scratch and, I keep checking my Amazon order status with high hopes that my lightbox is shipping to me soon :-D

Oh, I put some of the photos I took into my post - is that okay? You can see that I enjoy small-scale toy photography in general; but notice also the doll. She's a BJD. So she's a ball jointed doll. I know that sometimes,people aren't sure what exactly it is that I'm talking about LOL! :-) Is it common for dollhouse hobbyists to take photographs of dolls and toys in their doll houses? I feel like maybe I'm weird...

Either way, I am stoaked to be here and hopefully, my new lightbox & furniture will be here soon :-D

[pdlnpeabody]

Hi Jack,

I'm not a "doll guy" but I do build scratch-built dollhouses. My wife isn't so much interested in the houses but more in the amounts they might sell for.

A few years ago my brother tried to get me into building structures for the 12" high G.I. Joe type dolls he collected and sets for his table-top games like Warhammer 40K. Never did transition into those scales, but might look into the table-top projects someday.

I'm sure you will find many members on here who appreciate your collection and houses.

[Broccolianddip]

Welcome! Your doll is beautiful!

I just got my first BJD in the mail yesterday, so I'm totally a "doll" lady!! AND last night I took about 100 pictures of her and my house, so no, you aren't weird for photographing these things!! You'll also find this forum is a great resource for all types of mini building techniques in lots of different scales. When you can't find an answer by searching, just make a new post and so many are always willing to offer help and advice!

Once you have 5 posts you can start an album in the Gallery to show off your work. Can't wait to see what you have to show off!

[morgansmith]

Welcome to the wonderful and without question very weird world of dollhouse miniatures. Don't try and fight it, embrace it and be thankful you are weird. It's much more interesting than normal, which is far too boring.

You will find with time that something most of us on the forum LOVE is eye candy. So, perhaps, you are The Candy Man No one will be complaining about the photos except perhaps when they aren't getting enough.

[havanaholly]

...I put some of the photos I took into my post - is that okay?...Is it common for dollhouse hobbyists to take photographs of dolls and toys in their doll houses? I feel like maybe I'm weird...

Welcome to the little family, Jack, and take a skim through posts where we post pictures, some of them from our Gallery albums. I make most of what I put into my dollhouses, including the dolls, but I have also begun acquiring 1:6 scale folks

mostly for rehabbing and passing along ( I have salvaged & rehabbed a couple of plastic Barbie dwellings, as well).

[Little Jupiter]

Hi Jack and welcome! I think your doll and photos are very sweet. Show us more soon!!

[LindaC]

We LOVE photos :-) I am not a doll person but love the dollhouses and landscaping. You won't believe what is in the members gallerys. I know I didn't for a long while.

best of luck,

LindaC in OK

[CheckMouse]

Welcome, Jack - glad you found the forum. Photographing dolls and dollhouses is FUN and we love pictures. I have recently begun adding dolls to my houses, especially now that there are so many quality ones out there. Haven't made any though - I think that is beyond my skills.

[havanaholly]

...I have recently begun adding dolls to my houses...Haven't made any though - I think that is beyond my skills.

Excuse me, but that's nonsense until you've tried (no one has to see them if they don't turn out, nor do you have to tell about it until you've had success). There are a lot of ways to make dolls that will pass muster to live in a dollhouse.

[CheckMouse]

Excuse me, but that's nonsense until you've tried (no one has to see them if they don't turn out, nor do you have to tell about it until you've had success). There are a lot of ways to make dolls that will pass muster to live in a dollhouse.

I thought I might get my ears pinned back on that one! Holly, you're a gem! As I keep progressing in dollhouserie the idea of making the dolls has been sneaking into my head.

[havanaholly]

Patricia King does wild things with cotton balls and chenille stems!

[savagedolls]

Oh my gosh! Thank you so much to EVERYONE who commented so far! You are all so lovely! :-D

I have half the mind to start making my own BJDs, actually! I found a reciepe for cold-drying porcelain, which air-dries and requires very simple ingrediants..... I wanted to start making my OWN dolls because there are so many creatures I'd like to add to my dollhouse!

One of my dolls, Sawyer, is in a wheelchair and finding a poseable helper dog is really hard, so I think I'm going to make my own German Shepard soon.

I see that there is a "Other Hobby" section on this forum which is GREAT! Once I can find my soap glycerin, I'll make my porcelain and maybe I'll just have to make a post to show off my progress ;)

In other great hobby news, my dollhouse things shipped today and they shipped first class!! OMG YAY!! I'm SO HAPPY! We're having a doll meet-up at my house very soon so I can't wait to show off my supplies to my good doll friends soon!

And today I got the tinest little lamp!! Haha! It lights, too!! SMALL PLUG IN IS SOOO SMALL!! Oh gosh! It's a desk lamp and it's a 1920's Deco-style lamp, the ones with the green shade on it, just like you see in the D*ck (I'm sorry, they've edited his name, but you all know who he is!)Tracey movies!!

I carried my lamp with me everywhere. It came to Starbucks with me (LOL! ) , and I showed the lamp to my best friend/barista, too! LOL! You'd never guess that I like tiny things, noooooo ;) (I myself am 6 feet tall, haha. My wife is 4 foot 5!! heehee.)

Anyway, thank you soooo much to everyone for the nice comments and for being really great!! I'm going to love it here at this Forum!

Edited June 5, 2012 by savagedolls

[havanaholly]

Have you thought about using polymer clay to make your bjds?

[savagedolls]

Oh yes, I have made a few Sculpty dolls but because of the tension of the strings, they end up breaking. I like the idea of porcelain BJDs and then adding some hot glue around the joints. I think that'll help them to not chip :-)

[savagedolls]

I actually HIGHLY recommend Sculpty or Polymere for miniiature props. I wish I had some Sculpty left over to make some food with ^_^;; It's very durable, actually; and you can add more clay onto your project after it's been cooked, too, and just re-cook it.

I like Sculpty because you can paint it with acrylic paints and it gets really pretty. I hyad a red apple I made for a friends' doll a looong time ago, it was cute!

I plan on getting into props some more, too, once I make my air-dry porcelain. Vases and foods and pots....Very excited!

In other exciting news....Today, I got 2 packages delivered! Getting closer to having more things for a dolly house! I got a BEAUTIFUL coffee table and a little sitting bench/porch bench! Oh and some cute blankets and pillows :-)

[havanaholly]

Jack, check out some of the Mini Mundus furniture kits or check out some of the books for making miniature furniture. A lot of ready made things, especially the mass-produced items, don't always fit our little houses, especially if you build from kits, as mini of us do.

[mybrainhurts]

The cold porcelain recipe I used cracked something fierce when I made anything with any thickness to it so if your recipe works, please do share it. I was trying to make a bathtub mold and I think some of the cracks in it could have led to China. I'm still trying to make that batch work but it's frustrating business so I'm on the lookout for a good recipe that won't crack so much.

(With that batch I learned that Noxema cold cream is NOT something you want to use because the smell just WONT. GO. AWAY. Hahaha.)

[havanaholly]

I think Pond's is the cold cream of choice in makng cold porcelain...

[sparklepuppies]

I think Michael's carries cold porcelain, don't they? If you can't find a recipe that works well, that might be an alternative. Use a 40% coupon of course!

[judithfa]

I love the little people and also put them into my dollhouses. My dollhouses all have resident families, extended families, and lots of friends; and as opposed to the "real world", everybody gets along. (We could learn some lessons in this).

I have over 100 little people. I work in 1:12 scale now, but have a Keystone dollhouse with funishings and people living in it. This is a picture of some of them:

I also have some of my dolls from my childhood.

Love dolls, embrace dolls -- they are good friends!

B)

[queenannediva]

Welcome Jack! Glad you are here. I am one of those that does not put dolls in my houses, but it looks like you have a wonderful collection.

Valerie

[New Day]

Welcome Jack! Love your photos!

[Gonzo]

Greetings from Indiana and welcome to our little neighborhood!

[-defunct account-]

Welcome aboard.

I never really thought dolls were my cup of tea, but somehow I now have 3 in my collection. Two were made by a local artist and the third was a kit, basically she came as arms, legs, a head and torso, baggie of hair (choice of color) and instructions to wig and assemble the body. I was pretty impressed with my first try, but to be fair there are a lot of great resources around to help you through every step. The clay portion scares me a little and I have great respect for those that can sculpt faces. I'm sure if I devoted myself I could come up with something decent, but I focus more on house builds and furnishings.

If you're crazy for photographing your minis, then welcome to the nut house!

[Franciebelle]

Oh yes, I have made a few Sculpty dolls but because of the tension of the strings, they end up breaking. I like the idea of porcelain BJDs and then adding some hot glue around the joints. I think that'll help them to not chip :-)

If you like the tiny BJDs (I've adopted a Halloween Hana, and have been eyeballing a Lati Yellow), then making your own from porcelain will pose some challenges. I have worked with porcelain dolls and making my own, and I've found that hot glue can do weird things to porcelain--from cracking thin porcelain to just lifting off because it didn't get the right kind of "grab" to the stuff. I've tried sculpting with polymer clays, but it wasn't for me. I don't even like play-doh...don't like having my hands all gummed up! I've made porcelain miniature dolls, and man, is it easy to crack that stuff! I'd like to know how well your experiment goes. I don't have a kiln, so the idea of cold porcelain is interesting.

Have fun creating!

Francie (and no, you aren't weird for taking pics of your dolls...have you ever been to Prego? Fashion doll (and bjd) collectors post pics of their dolls in all kinds of scenes all the time!!)