Saturday, June 30, 2012

Halle, Darius, and Diego?

Halle has finished her photoshoot for the day.  She is relaxing in the lounge area.

"But I don't understand.  Why are you here?"  (Halle)
"I needed to see you.  I've been thinking about us a lot lately and wanted to see if there was still a chance for us."  (Darius)

Halle is speechless and really doesn't know what to say.

"Honey, sorry I'm late.  Are you ready?"  (Diego)

"Diego, you are here."  (Halle)
"Yes. Finally I am here.  Traffic was worse than I thought.  Why are you sitting in here talking to yourself?"  (Diego)
"I'm not talking to myself."  (Halle)

"Well, there's no one else here."  (Diego)

Halle looks over towards the sofa and realizes her conversation with Darius was all in her head.

"Are you okay?"  (Diego)
"I think so.  It's just been a long day and I didn't sleep well last night." (Halle)
"Come, let me take a look at you."  (Diego)

"Yep. Still gorgeous, albeit a little flustered.  Maybe you are coming down with something."  (Diego)
"I'm fine.  I just need some rest."  (Halle)

"Well, let's go eat and then I will take you home and tuck you in.  Okay?"  (Diego)

"That sounds wonderful."  (Halle)
Halle realizes she has a good man and that she needs to hold on to him.  

"Thanks for being so good to me."  (Halle)

"I wouldn't have it any other way.  You are very special to me."  (Diego)
Halle and Diego leave the studio holding hands.  Halle doesn't know where those thoughts of Darius came from, but she has put them out of her head.  

The new sofa and chair are listed in the Etsy store.  It will only be listed as a set for about a week.  Then it will be sold as two separate pieces.


Friday, June 29, 2012

Adventures with the Airbrush

So I finally pulled out the airbrush.  How long have I been talking about doing that?  Too long!   I've had my airbrush set since 2005.  The last time I used it was 2005.  Pitiful!  I took a class on composition doll repair back then, and this was one of the required tools.  

Here is part of my airbrush set.  It is a complete set, but the other pieces are setting off to the side. Airbrushing allows for very thin coats of paint with great coverage.

You will need an air compressor to get your airbrush to work.

These are airbrush quality paints.  There are many more colors.  This is what I had on hand and what I used for my experiment.

This is my box of repair goodies.  This stuff is amazing.   It's not only used for repairs, but can be used to change a doll's features.  

These two dolls are in an upcoming story and it would be nice if they had articulated bodies.  Model #4 has been waiting a long time for a body.

I didn't want to practice on one of my really good articulated bodies, in case I really messed it up.  I had a couple of SIS articulated bodies and decided to use these.  Mixing colors is always a challenge.  That's why I always say one of the best classes I ever took is a Color Theory class.  It has come in handy so many times.

So this is the body in progress.  I was happy with the color mix and knew that adding additional coats would help me achieve my goal.  I added a few more coats, then let it dry.  You NEVER know what the color  will look like once it's dry.  It acts very similar to house paint.  It got a little darker once it was dry.  There wasn't any measuring to my color mixing.  I always try to see beyond the top surface color.  I look for the undertones to see what's there.  So I mixed mostly caramel brown (I was completely out of my regular brown), a few drops of black, some orange, some yellow and some royal blue.    That was my first color mix, and even though it's not a perfect match, I am pleased with my first results.

It's not as shiny as it appears in this picture.  After I painted it and let it dry, I added a porcelain MATTE glaze to the whole body.

So in this picture you can see more of the matte finish.  It looks the same way on the front.  I still have a few spots to touch up, then I will add one final coat of matte sealer just to make sure the color is protected.

Model #4 is happy to see a new body.

Like I said, not a perfect match, but for my first try after 7 yrs of not doing it, I am pleased.

I will more than likely paint a fashionista body for her.  She needs to be able to move her arms and wrists better than this SIS body allows.

I'm also excited because painting all that pink furniture will be a lot easier.  There's little, to no overspray with airbrushing, and much better coverage quicker.  So that makes it easier.  

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Close Encounter at the Grocery Store

It's late afternoon on Monday, and Jordan's (the name of the grocery store) is quite busy.

Bruce (Shantavia's new beau) has stopped in to get a few things.

"Hello sir.  Did you find everything ok?"  (Deidre)
Deidre just recently started working here part time.  She still works at David's gym on the weekends.

"Yes, I did."  (Bruce)

"Lola, let's go get the ice cream."  (Donte)
Remember the Morettis?  Mom, Penelope owns the local bakery.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see the masterful wedding cake she made for Rod and Danielle.

"Are you going to help mommy pick some vegetables?"  (Penelope)

Stopping to quickly introduce this new family.  I don't know their last name and I don't know the mom's name yet.  The dad is Sean.  There's Shannon, 8 yrs old.  She's Nikaya's friend.  She's been seen on the basketball court and at the dance studio.  Tommy, 2 1/2 yrs old, and Sara Elizabeth, 8 mos, round out the family.  

Tommy has his cart and he is raring to go.

Oops, there goes Tommy!  Shannon has decided to ride on the back of the cart.  

"Sean, will you please keep up with Tommy?"  (Mom)
"I'm on it."  (Sean)

Bruce finishes checking out and heads out.  He doesn't even notice the guy and little girl that just entered.  He is tired from a long day and anxious to get home.  Jason and Jada have stopped by the store to pick up some milk and eggs that Lynn (his wife) needs.

"Daddy, daddy, it's Mr. Bruce!"  (Jada)
Bruce doesn't hear his name and continues out the door.

"Mr. Bruce?  Who is Mr. Bruce?"  (Jason)
"He's my friend."  (Jada)
"I'm sure that at 5 yrs old, you do not have a friend named Mr. Bruce."  (Jason)
"Uh huh, Daddy.  He comes over and plays with me."  (Jada)
Although Jada's comments are innocent enough, Jason is imagining all kinds of bad things.  He is anxious to  talk to Shantavia to see if she knows anything about this Mr. Bruce.

Donte has returned with the ice cream.  He mistakenly put Lola in the basket with Lanzo and I guess he wasn't happy about it.  Lanzo expresses his discontent by striking his sister. (I did not stage the fight between the twins.)
"Lanzo! Do not hit your sister."  (Dad)

"Can I get two of your pork loins?"  (Penelope)
"No problem."  (Manager)

Tommy is on the move.

"This one, Mommy?"  (Shannon)

"Yes.  We also need some butter."  (Mom)

"Lanzo, is that you causing all that ruckus?  (Mom)

How can you get mad at a face like that.  

"Did you find everything, sir?"  (Deidre)
"Yes, thanks."  (Jason)

"Daddy, can I get some candy?"  (Jada)

Jada has apparently spotted the lollipops so conveniently placed on the counter.  Most days she is able to charm her dad into giving her a treat.  Not today.  Jason's mind is on one thing.  Mr. Bruce 'playing with' his daughter.
"Not today, Jada.  We have to go."  (Jason)

"Well hello there, cutie."  (Deidre)
"Hi.  Do you have some candy?"  (Jada)
"Jada, we don't ask strangers for candy."  (Jason)
This quick trip to the grocery store has turned into an eye opening experience for Jason.  

The customers are steadily coming into the store.  There's Mia, the assistant from Chang Realty.  She has just picked up her daughter from the daycare and stopped in to get a few things for dinner.

Isn't her daughter the cutest?  I think this is a clone Kelly from one of the Dollar stores.  She and quite a few others were gifted to me primarily for the clothes, I think.  But when I saw this face, I fell in love.  She has cheeks for days.

So  Jordan's seems to be doing quite well.  There's been a couple of store fixture additions, and some rearranging since we last saw the store.  It will go through many  changes over the new couple of months.

Wanted to take a moment to show Deidre's skirt.  I finally opened up one of my LIV store displays.  The mannequin came with several pieces of material that could be used for various outfits.  I used one piece as a skirt and I was really pleased with it.  Who knew a big ol' rectangle of material could look so cute?

Of course in the back there's a lot of extra material.  This could be solved by sewing a straight stitch from top to bottom to make the rectangle smaller.

 Preview of what's to come:
There's a new sofa and chair on the way.  The sofa just needs throw pillows and I need to finish the chair.  It will be offered as a set for about a week and if it doesn't sell in that time, it will be separated and sold as separate pieces.

Airbrushing Bodies
Believe it or not, I pulled out and plugged in the airbrush today.  How long have I been wanting to do this?

Well stay tuned for an upcoming post to see how successful I am at making some darker skinned bodies.