davidd’s A DOLL A DAY 2022

[Alliecat]

Haha, Carly conquers the Final Frontier... with cheer. That would be funny.
Just realizing that I would find a lot of interchangeable heads rather confusing.

[davidd]

Haha, Carly conquers the Final Frontier... with cheer.  That would be funny.
Just realizing that I would find a lot of interchangeable heads rather confusing.

Yes, that would be amusing. And like the Pinkys, Carly has a relatively large head for her size. I should give that a try!

Almost any head can be "interchangeable" with a judicious application of either heat or brute force. Sometimes a combination of heat and brute force is required.

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12 January - A Doll A Day 2022:

12 January - Say What Now?

One of my very good Instagram friends, who coincidentally purchased her very first Smart Doll the same week I purchased my first Smart Doll... and the very same Smart Doll at that, has decided that her dolls do not get enough attention and take up too much space, so she is offering them for sale.

This came as a total surprise to me and my Smart Doll crew. Triv, Janie, and the gang almost idolize their online friends Izzy and Justice.

Of course, this surprising news set me to wondering: is it time to consider re-homing my own Smart Dolls? After all, they do take up a lot of space, and they are rather ex-pensive to maintain in the manner to which they've become accustomed. If this is a sign of the "Smart Doll fad" beginning to wind down, perhaps the wiser course of action would be to get out while the gettin's good; that is, while they'd still bring a few bucks on the secondary market.

I suppose another option would be... if anyone here at Dolly Market has been "Smart Doll curious"... perhaps you could check out @izzygray_n_justiceekpo on Instagram to see if an adoption is feasible.

(Unfortunately, a double Smart Doll adoption is simply not economically feasible for me at the moment!)

[Alliecat]

Sure, any heads are swappable, but I would find it hard to maintain a sense of the characters if I was swapping their heads around.

Are you suuurrre you aren’t going to adopt another Smart Doll? I can sense the temptation, especially since they’re ones you’ve been following.

I guess the question is, do they bring you enough fun to be worth keeping? It sounds like they do. Who cares about fads if you are having fun? Why chase what everyone else is doing? When you bought them, was it with the idea of only enjoying them as long as they were popular with some perceived group, and then having to get rid of them? Or is it about doing creative things for yourself?
Just some thoughts from someone who has never been into following the crowd. >shrug<

And as far as “maintenance” goes, I’m sure there are other options for clothing and accessories besides the overpriced company ones. The doll hobby is as ek$pensive as one chooses to make it. You can still have fun on a minimal budget.

[davidd]

Are you suuurrre you aren’t going to adopt another Smart Doll?  I can sense the temptation, especially since they’re ones you’ve been following.

The temptation is real. The lack of two-thousand dollars of disposable income is even more real.  

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13 January - A Doll A Day 2022:

13 January - Star Patrol: Space Cadet Holly Corbett and Space Ranger Rochelle Jones

CY Girls "Aurora" astronaut figures (circa 2000 release)

[Alliecat]

This is cool and now I want to see a photostory.
Great use of tin cans & tinfoil for a setting!

The temptation is real. The lack of two-thousand dollars of disposable income is even more real. 

OUCH!! For second-hand???
They're cool dolls and all, but, the prices are nutz.

[Elfy]

But if selling the Smart Dolls did give you more space what would you fill it with?

[davidd]

Great use of tin cans & tinfoil for a setting!


OUCH!!  For second-hand???
They're cool dolls and all, but, the prices are nutz.

Yes - and the tin cans and aluminum foil (used, no less) offer a glimpse in to my budget limitations. 

Yup, for second hand! They're "discontinued models," you see. And they include a number of accessories and costume bits, both "name brand" and custom made. Definitely beyond my (current) budget, although my most recent lottery ticket won me a "free" lottery ticket, so I have one more chance!

But if selling the Smart Dolls did give you more space what would you fill it with?

Good question. Probably with something far less interesting and much less fun.

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14 January - A Doll a Day 2022:

14 January - Scourge of the Seven Seas: Addie Fulfills her Destiny

Addie was meant to be a pirate since she joined the Smart Doll crew here, back in October 2019. That was my intent when I brought her in to the fold. In fact, Addie, or more formally, Adeline, takes her name from a character in one of my favorite books of all time, Adventure at Black Rock Cave (1959) by Patricia Lauber. Some editions of Adventure at Black Rock Cave indicate a former alternate title on the title page, Addie and the Pirates, although I have not yet been able to find a published copy under that title.

Now, in mid-January 2022, Addie the Pirate is finally ready to set sail! Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for she!

Addie's pirate costume is a mix of Smart Doll and Pullip Doll components.

As for that passing whim I mentioned about selling or otherwise parting with any of my Smart Doll crew, I think this photo scuttles that option once and for all.

I need to get a full-length pic that shows her boots! Gotta love the boots!

[Elfy]

She rocks the pirate look. Pirates make everything better. The hook for Red Seas Under Red Skies (sequel to my favourite book ever: The Lies of Locke Lamora) was how do you improve on The Lies of Locke Lamora? Simple: add pirates!

[davidd]

She rocks the pirate look. Pirates make everything better. The hook for Red Seas Under Red Skies (sequel to my favourite book ever: The Lies of Locke Lamora) was how do you improve on The Lies of Locke Lamora? Simple: add pirates!

 Love it! Just add pirates! Pirates make anything better!

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15 January - A Doll A Day 2022:

15 January - Work-in-Progress: Cardboard Benches for Action Figures

My crafting skills have not improved since I was nine years old.

I say in my caption that this is a "work-in-progress," but I don't know what I would do next if I wanted these to look any more "finished." For what I need them for, they may not actually need to look any more finished. I just wish I knew how to make things that looked, y'know, better than this, rather than like something a second-grader would make.

Actually, I should be careful about remarks like the "second grader" thing. Something I learned while teaching school is that kids don't know how to make things anymore. Many of them have not, by age 9 or 10, learned to cut on a line using scissors, or how to glue or tape two pieces of paper together. Schools are so busy teaching "to the standards" that kids are not learning basic motor functions or simple practical skills.

Realistically, then, I can claim that my cardboard cutting and glueing skills, while not any better than they were when I was nine years old, are better than those of many nine year olds of today.

Don't even get me started on using a ruler to measure or even to draw lines. When I was working at a junior high/middle school (grades 7/8 in the States, ages 12 to 14), industry representatives from various companies who made presentations during Career Day stressed that students need to learn to measure using a ruler. They said that almost everybody who graduated from high school required remedial instruction on how to measure using a ruler.

I really go down a mental and emotional rabbit hole when I'm working on "fun" craft projects, which takes a lot of the fun out of fun craft projects. 

[Alliecat]

"...coconut replaces the smell of the bar
And I don't know if it's her or the rum..."
Addie makes a grand pirate!! My crew salutes her.

It's probably neater than I would make... they're cut very neatly. You could slap some paint on them... got any leftover house paint?
Kids spend too much time on screens and I agree, not enough on the basics. I was gobsmacked at the illiteracy and appalling penmanship of a grade 10 test paper I saw once at the school, that had been left behind.
I am thankful for parents that encouraged reading and a childhood where kids made dollhouses out of cardboard boxes and did other crafty things.
I weep for humanity...

I did manage to make instagram work long enough to see those 2 dolls for sale, and, OK, they do come with quite a lot of extra stuff. I'm glad to hear you're not going to get rid of yours. Just keep having fun with them.

(yes, I wanna see her whole outfit)

[Elfy]

I think the benches look okay. They serve a purpose.

[davidd]

You could slap some paint on them... got any leftover house paint?
. . .
(yes, I wanna see her whole outfit)

There's an idea! Yes, in fact, among the many odd things left behind here in Florida by the previous tenant is a number of paint cans. I shall check to see what colors are there!

I recall seeing a photo a few years ago of you "twinning" with your little pirate in a pirate outfit of your own. I think you will approve of Addie's entire outfit, as it is somewhat reminiscent of yours, if I am remembering correctly.

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16 January - A Doll A Day 2022:

16 January - Hydran Federation Scout Ship HFS-009 Edward D Wood Jr - Work-in-Progress

Hydran Federation Scout Ship HFS-009 Edward D Wood Jr as seen in an early science fiction film. Only a few fragmentary frames remain from this late-Weimar era speculative science silent film.

Or maybe it's another project I'm cobbling together out of used pizza boxes. 

[Alliecat]

Used pizza boxes?  I hope you wiped off the pizza residue!
I definitely want to see a cardboard spaceship.

I recall seeing a photo a few years ago of you "twinning" with your little pirate in a pirate outfit of your own.

Yup. Wow, I can’t believe that was just a year and a bit ago. Seems like forever.

[davidd]

Yes, that is the pic I was thinking of!
The similarities are mostly in the jacket.

[dargosmydaddy]

The similarities are mostly in the jacket.

Come on, the similarities are mostly in the piratical attitude and stance! (though the whole outfits are also awesome)

It's probably neater than I would make... they're cut very neatly. You could slap some paint on them...

Very neat! And I'm seconding the paint idea.

I weep for humanity...

Last week I did a business letter project with my eighth graders... the fact that I had to go into deep detail on exactly how to address an envelope, and also show about a third of them how to write their own names in cursive was... an eerience!

I'm loving all your props, davidd... I might need to work on some myself so that my pictures aren't constantly "dolls standing around." Last year I discovered that I'm a bit of a cardboard hoarder and purged a lot of my "collection," but I still have a lot (and there's always an excuse to get a pizza...).