Mini Baby

I love this new baby! She has a very sweet face. Denise dressed her in such a cute... soft pastel dress. Isn't she lovely.

Updates

Been a crazy week, but here are a few updates on the BJD. Not much but I'm making a bit of progress.

To eBay or not eBay... that is the question.

I have recently started to sell the older doll that I have made during the past few years on eBay. They may be older, but they are still very beautiful dolls. Some I have liked better then others, in fact there have been a few that I wish I had not sold. I have sold them because being an artist who is not independently wealthy, I need to have money to buy supplies so that I can continue to sculpt, so, in turn I can continue to improve. I’m sure other artist out there understand the need to create. It is a driving force that unless you have felt it would be had to explain. I’m lucky to have three sisters who also understand this creative drive. Well, on eBay if you are just starting out and have not received feedback, buyers are not going to buy from you. I realized this so I have priced my dolls with a very low starting bid in hopes that I would generate interest, sell the doll and gain feedback. So far it has worked pretty well. I now have a whopping 11 positive feedback and have earned a yellow star by the number. Can we all say YAHOOO!!!! Now for my dilemma and question. I’m coming near the end of the older dolls that I’m willing to sell at the lower prices. I’m thinking about starting the eBay auction with a higher starting price, and also setting a reserve on the auction. I have not done this with the earlier auctions. I feel that my dolls are worthy of a higher price and I’ve also show with the feedback that I’m a reputable seller. (I know that 11 is not the highest… but it’s better then 0). So… should I do this? Do I risk making potential buyers unhappy with a reserve on the auction? What will they think when I do this? I don’t have an auction up at this time. But my eBay name is: happy_sculptor. I would appreciate comments on this. I will be thinking of how I should handle this. Hoping and praying for some answers until my next auction.

New Mini Baby

Here are some updates in the second Mini Baby that I have been working on.These limbs are to go with this baby head. I hope I can finish her this weekend and get her to my sister so she can dress her.

Updates to the BJD

So here are a few pictures of the updates that I have made to the BJD. As you can see I had to totally redo her hip socket. I still think there is some trouble with the top of the legs and their interaction with the hip socket. As I look at BJDs in general they have a gap so to speak at the top of the legs, I think this helps with the sitting of the doll. I guess I'll see how the joint interaction is when I try to string her. Any way take a look and let me know what you think.

Time is flying

Wow been a few to many days since I have posted anything. I have been working on my BJD and mini baby, but I have not taken any pictures of the progress yet. It has been rather frustrating working on the BJD. I bet I have wasted at least 1/2 a block of clay trying to get her hip socket right. I think I have finally got them now. I went and bought wooden balls the size I needed for the ball joint of the socket. Then when I sculpted the hip I took the wooden ball and pushed it into the clay to form the socket. So far I think it will work, but the real test will be when I try to string her. Well I will try to get some pictures posted of the progress soon.
My running has been a struggle, I ran about 91/2 miles Saturday and it felt OK but not great. I have a 30K in two weeks and I hope I will do better then I did at the 1/2 marathon. I'm having some serious reservations about running the marathon.
My oldest son graduates from Utah State University in a few weeks. I can't believe it, time has gone by so fast. It just seems like yesterday he was just starting.
My youngest son will graduate High school so it is a time of transition for both of them. For me it is very exciting to see them grow and develop into such wonderful young men.

Mini Baby

Well the mini baby is dresses. I still don't think she is all that cute. I will be posting her on eBay this coming week. It has been a busy weekend and I didn't get to work on my dolls as much as I would have liked. I ran the WRC 1/2 marathon on Saturday and had a terrible run. I completely bonked and felt so crappy by the end. I was pretty waisted the rest of the day. Today I have been working a bit on the BJD I should say reworking her. I hate when I can picture the way I want it to work in my mind, but it doesn't translate to my hands. I think I reworked the ball in the hip socket at least three times. I 'm hoping that I can do some work in the evenings this week, but I'll see how it goes. Anyway here is a picture of the mini baby all dressed. My sister Denise makes the clothes for my dolls and she does a wonderful job. When I get the time I will put a link in the blog to her. I named the new baby Sweet Pickles, my sisters have told me that I need to have a story or something more personal on my eBay auctions. So when I looked at this new baby, the colors in her dress reminded me of my Aunt Gretta's sweet pickles, so that is her name.

My Daughter Birthday

My oldest child, daughter, turns 27 today. She was such a sweet baby, always happy and never fussy, even when she needed to be changed or was hungry. She rarely ever cried. I remember my Mother commenting on what an easy baby she was, and telling me that this was not normal behavior for babies. I didn’t really believe her until I had my second child. As my daughter grew up we had many growing pains within our family. A few months back I found this comment on a blog and it fit so much of what my oldest child means to me that I wanted to post it here.

“This child made me a mother. I have learned from her, tested my ideas on her, figured out what works, what was a good theory, what failed in the real world, and to ultimately throw all the parenting books away.

Sometimes I feel bad, since she is, and will continue to be, at the cutting edge of my parenting skills. Her brothers and sister reap the benefits of her trailblazing. By the time they get around to things, Tara had whacked her way through the parenting-ignorance-jungle and we’ve managed to make a little clearing.

There was a time I wondered why she was so headstrong, and what I could do about it. I know now, she needed that head full of concrete and stubbornness so we could all learn to be a family. A gentler, meeker child would never have had the strength to wield the machete needed to create parents from the raw materials she was given.

I will be eternally grateful for the wild, strong, obstinate, fiery, brilliant spirit that is my oldest child. She made me a mother.”

With my realization of time passing I reflect back on all the experiences that I had with my daughter, I’m honored to be her Mom. She has grown in to a wonderful young woman, wife and mother. As much as I miss the time I had with her at home. I also enjoy what our relationship has developed into, and hope that it will continue to grow and evolve into an even better connection.

My Mother's Birthday

Today is my Mother’s birthday, she is 82, but please don’t tell her I posted it here. She has never really liked telling her age. I don’t know why, because no one would guess that she is that old. She looks and acts at least 10 years younger then she is. She still has a pretty active lifestyle. She belongs to a few walking groups that sponsor walks that she participates in, and walks quite a few times a week around her neighborhood. She also loves to garden in her yard. She can’t handle the heavy work that she used to do, but she will still plant and weed and water her gardens.
My Mother loves the piano she has played it for most of her life. As a little girl it was my alarm clock to get up. She played at our church for many years and I can remember her practicing. She didn’t mind playing for small groups at the church or other functions, but was never comfortable playing in front of big groups of people. I think for the most part, just playing at her house for herself brings her the most satisfaction. She loves to go to concerts, plays and art shows.
So I will take my card and flowers to her today on my lunch break. I will give her a big hug and let her know that I’m so happy to still have her in my life, and wish her a Happy Birthday!