davidd's A Doll A Day Challenge 2020

[davidd]

Hahaha, now that you mention it, he does resemble a certain (former?) celebrity. 

Funny thing, I was in an airport recently... I was not flying, and believe me, an airport is one of the last places I want to be right now... and that certain former celebrity was featured on one of the recorded announcements!

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8 August – The Smarts & Crafts Girls assemble an IKEA table

(Ex-pensive dolls and real wood stain; so much for that "smart" part!)

[Elfy]

Do they have their very own allen key set or do they use the ones that are supplied with the table?

[Lejays17]

Industrious as always - always have a project on the go!

[neon_jellyfish]

How are they not stewed in those overalls? Just looking at them makes me feel hot!

[werepuppy]

I am always impressed when you post photos like this because you pose your girls so wonderfully. The poses all look so natural

Also doll hands could probably work an allen key better than human hands...

[Alliecat]

Once again with the posing, they look very realistic, working away. At least they have coveralls to keep (most of) the stain off.

(Ex-pensive dolls and real wood stain; so much for that "smart" part!)

I'm often mildly appalled at the places my supposedly-for-display dolls end up
"But I'll be really careful..." ... right...??

[davidd]

Do they have their very own allen key  set or do they use the ones that are supplied with the table?

Usually they pull out the "real tools" for these IKEA projects. In this case, a Phillips-head screwdriver was required but not provided. No Allen keys this time. However, the nut-driver tool included in the kit worked quite well, so it was not necessary to hunt around for the socket set, which is just as well, because it would have taken me longer to find the socket set than it took to assemble the kit.

How are they not stewed in those overalls? Just looking at them makes me feel hot!

It's all about what you wear under the overalls... or in this case, what you don't wear under the overalls! 

Also doll hands could probably work an allen key better than human hands...

Exactly! It is much easier for Janie and Triv to work in the narrow spaces than it would be for a gawky, awkward human like myself.

At least they have coveralls to keep (most of) the stain off.

I'm often mildly appalled at the places my supposedly-for-display dolls end up.
"But I'll be really careful..."  ... right...??

I know. It's like, "well, I didn't ruin them crawling under the house, or with the circular saw, or up in that tree, so...."

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9 August – Tabletop Clutter

My enthusiasm for more ambitious photos was short-lived. Actually, it's more of a timing issue: I was making good progress on some things I need to do, but then I got interrupted, and then for a variety of reasons I couldn't get back to it, and now it's too late in the day and too hot to... well, obviously it's not too hot to make excuses. I obviously need to get some things cleaned up and organized. And get that squid back in the tank.

It just irks me when my larger projects get derailed. It throws off my day and my attitude.

[Elfy]

The two guys look like they’re on a mission there.

[neon_jellyfish]

More tentacles!!! Yaaaaay! This is such a fun photo!

I hope you'll be able to get back on track with your projects!

[werepuppy]

The clutter is actually pretty fanscinating, with the tentacles, and the army guys and the Dal...

[davidd]

The clutter is actually pretty fascinating, with the tentacles, and the army guys and the Dal...

You want clutter? Okay, how's this for clutter:

10 August – "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN!"

Poor Kenna Roswell is feeling overwhelmed by the chaos in the storage shed!

She's not the only one!

Here's what we're looking at: 12 x 20 feet (3.5 x 6 meters) of insanity!

What're we gonna do first? Remove that claustrophobic "loft" platform, that's what!

Somehow... hopefully without destroying everything underneath it.

Wouldn't it be easier to move the stuff out of the way before embarking on a major carpentry project?

Uhm... no. Not really. Because there's too much stuff!

The plan... yes, there is actually a plan... is to then construct a dividing wall.

The front half of the shed will be for tools and supplies and stuff. The back half will be the DOLL & TOY STUDIO!

That's the ludicrously over-optimistic vision, anyway.

Oh! Look what I uncovered in the back of the storage shed!

I'd forgotten I had this!

I wonder what she's bringing on eBay?

Wait... what is your secret heart's desire? "To fit in in with all my new friends... and then rule over them ALL! MUHAHAHAHAH!"

I guess this means she's a keeper!

(Actually... eBay selling price is about $45-$50 USD including shipping. Shipping would cost about $20, maybe a little bit more.

That brings the actual in pocket cash to about $25. Deduct eBay and PayPal fees, about 15% to 20% of the total...

... you're only looking at clearing maybe $15 to $20 tops. Another reason to keep her around.)

(And maybe even un-box her... eventually!)

(Plus, they're really common on eBay right now, so the only way to ensure a sale would be to undercut the average price.)

P.S.: After hours of effort, I was able to remove the loft without causing excessive destruction to my room boxes and dioramas and other treasures, and without inordinate pain or bleeding! Yay!

Pay no attention to the now-dangling live electrical wire!

Other than, it's prolly better if you don't touch it!

[Elfy]

I’ve felt like Kenna at times.

[neon_jellyfish]

Congrats on de-lofting the shed! Is Kenna still alive?

Teenage Evil Queen is actually Evil Queen - Raven's mother - using magic to look like a teenager so that she can sneak into EAH disguised as a student and try to turn Raven evil. It was all very awkward, which is why I changed her character (and I think werepuppy might have changed hers for the same reason?).

[werepuppy]

Congrats on getting the job sucessfully done. Does Kenna feel better now?

(Yeah, as neon said, the canon plot was... awkward, so it was changed for my Mira. Though she's still a bit more evilly inclined than her 'sisters'...)

[Loona]

I too hope that Kenna also managed to get out alive, it worries me a tiny bit that you didn't mention her in the after-section.
Our flat looks kinda like that... I am really rooting for your plan to succeed, because I currently don't see how my plans of decluttering could work out... probably seeing some good examples around could help.

What're we gonna do first? Remove that claustrophobic "loft" platform, that's what!

...aaaand, THANK YOU. We live in the city centre in an old block of flats, in a flat we rent. Much to our sadness, the owner confirmed they have no plans of selling it, so we are looking for a flat of our own (the major cause of the clutter is that the furniture that comes with the flat is mostly insufficient for us. It might be OK for university students who rent an apartment until they study in the city, but not for a couple in their 30-40s who have gotten old enough to flip the finger at waiting to buy their stuff until they have a flat of their own. But we don't want to spend 4-digit $$ for custom furniture that we might not even take with us, because who knows how the future flat will look like...). Most of the flats here have a 3.5-5m high ceiling height - and that's exactly what I like in them! And yet what do people do? They build friggin' lofts. Yeah, I get it, more floor space = less clutter, and that's something I could use too, but claustrophobic me simply doesn't feel comfortable in a flat that has a ceiling height under 3 metres. Or rather make that 4. The last time we've slept in a flat like that (on a holiday earlier this summer), I had a mild panic attack on the second night, and ended up having to go outside instead of sleeping (OK, that flat had rather small windows, too, but a smaller ceiling height inevitably means smaller windows as well). Upon browsing ads, there usually comes a point when I get so angry with the constant presence of lofts (or mentions like "ceiling height is 4 metres - great for building a loft!" Arrrgh) that I swear that if our future flat comes with one, I'll personally tear it down with an axe, burn it, and record the whole process on video. The issue is: they usually add to a flat's cost, so I'd technically pay extra 4-digits for a steam-releasing exercise.