SuzyQ Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 Missymew Posted Today, 04:29 PM RayAnne - Sophia is a beautiful doll - she'd make a great career woman for your house. Have you decided what her occupation will be? -Susanne RayAnne says that she thinks she will be a nurse and that she will be living there with her grandfather. So I guess we better be looking out for a good deal on a grandfather She is sort of a "tall lady" so Grandpa may be hard to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydroped Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 SuzyQ, Sophia is a beautiful doll! Of course the first thing I thought of as far as career was that she was a writer like Emily Bronte or the character Jo from Little Women heheh but a nurse would be wonderful! Hope you find just the perfect grandfather doll -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 She is sort of a "tall lady" so Grandpa may be hard to find. Nothing wrong with a short, rich man ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 Nothing wrong with a short, rich man ... In the immortal words of Eartha Kitt, "C'est si bon". Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil buttah Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 I would love to have dolls in a doll house but like a lot of people have said I don't like the ones that are affordable and don't want to pay a fortune. I like the resin dolls which look more realistic but you just can't play with them. When you look at most sffordable dolls, they are wearing clothes 4 times to big and that just looks so cheap when you place them next to all the furnature you spent so long choosing, collecting and saving up for. Where is a market for the people who want to play with their dolls and want the quality to match the effort they put into the rest of their homes. I don't even have my house yet but I can see that a lot of hard work is involved and invested. I think when the time comes I'd sooner have no dolls unless someone can come up with another option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srnewbie Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 I have been mulling over the question of dolls/no dolls since I started planning my first house - have opted for "no dolls" just because I like the opening left for imagination to fill in the details of the occupant. I may add a pet one day - for coziness - have fun - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydroped Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 When you look at most sffordable dolls, they are wearing clothes 4 times to big and that just looks so cheap when you place them next to all the furnature you spent so long choosing, collecting and saving up for. Where is a market for the people who want to play with their dolls and want the quality to match the effort they put into the rest of their homes. That's one of the problems with dolls - I'm not fond of the resin ones simply because they are resin - to me theyr'e not really dolls but little statues - they look good but they're hard. A couple hundred dollars for a doll at first sounded really high, but now that I've tried making a few I can see just how much time it takes to hand sculpt it, find the right fabric (which to me can be harder than the sculpting) and then find the right pattern in miniature and don't forget the hair which really has to match the doll in the size of strands the hair is and working with that super fine viscous just isn't as easy as it looks. And like you said the cheaper dolls look like they're wearing clothes much too big for them but making clothes that fit and don't have any bulk and really look like real clothes but in miniature can be pretty tricky. There's a lot of tricks to learn and coming up with patterns in the right size isn't always easy. Now when I look at dolls I rarely even look at anything under $300. Of course I still haven't bought one yet and may never... I think perhaps someday but it's hard to let go of that much money for something to fit inside a mini house when the real house needs things. But still those are the dolls I look at - and drool over and am in awe of because of how much it takes just to make one of them. There is a cheaper way to go however and that's to buy a doll kit in porcelain and dress and wig it yourself. I've seen some kits on ebay and sometimes they can go for reasonable (I've seen then go for as little as $20- $30) or if you can find a ceramics shop in your area they might have some they can pour for you or at least be able to turn you onto a local doll person with a kiln. Sometimes that's a good way to go. Also if you can get a 1:12 scale doll mould you don't have to use porcelain in it - you can use polymer clay but be aware that porcelain shrinks some in firing so the doll may turn out a little large in polymer. I think porcelain shrinks about 20% I was always into ceramics rather than porcelain. -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nameless1 Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 My impression when I first starting browsing dollhouse sites was that most builders/collectors/hobbyists don't put dolls in their dollhouses. I always have dolls, as the house is decorated specifically for its inhabitants. But my houses are always more toylike than realistic, so having inhabitants who look like dolls rather than people isn't a problem for me. Poor ol' Miles and Theo would look out of place surrounded by Bespaq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil buttah Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 I never even thought about making clothes for the affordable dolls, I'm pretty handy with a needle. I might try that before I try to make one. Thanks David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydroped Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 No problem Jennifer - I did forget to mention though that there are some online tutorials for dressing dolls. Here's a link to a place that should have some tips and hopefully a few tutorials for you :lol: MSAT -David :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil buttah Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Wow!! This site has tips for everything!!!! Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 Ok, I caved. I was strongly against dolls for my house. That is, until I actually got it and started building it. It's a farmhouse in the country and it's begging for an older couple to live there. A straw hat hanging on the four post bed, some lemonade on the porch, maybe a pie cooling on a windowsill, etc. However, I haven't found any dolls that suit me. I guess I'll have to teach myself to make some out of polymer clay. Wow, is this what you all mean by having your houses talk to you? I didn't get it until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Ok, I caved. I was strongly against dolls for my house. That is, until I actually got it and started building it. It's a farmhouse in the country and it's begging for an older couple to live there. A straw hat hanging on the four post bed, some lemonade on the porch, maybe a pie cooling on a windowsill, etc. However, I haven't found any dolls that suit me. I guess I'll have to teach myself to make some out of polymer clay. Wow, is this what you all mean by having your houses talk to you? I didn't get it until now. Now you've got it! :lol: Actually, you don't need dolls . A hat on the bed ... a chair pulled out from the kitchen table with a pitcher of lemonade and a couple of glasses ... some knitting left on the comfy chair in the bedroom ... the pie cooling on the window -- all tell you who lives there. Shucks, for all we know, they may have just stepped out ... they may be out in the barn admiring the new calf, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 Oh man - now I'm thinking that might be just the way to go. All the accessories do tell who lives there. Maybe I'll wait on the dolls until I can find/make the perfect couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 "is this what you all mean by having your houses talk to you? I didn't get it until now." I never could put it into words - but this is it - the house talks to me, too. I built the house for the house's sake it seems...and less as a place for dolls to live. However, i did just buy a Heidi Ott doll that I adore. She is going to hang out in the house a bit, I can tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuzyQ Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Yeah my house is talking to me right now. It is Hollering for me to get off of that computer and Get Over Here And Finish Me!!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 I know! I've got to get back to painting the shutters and getting the windowboxes started. I'm going to get my tapewire kit tomorrow so I'm sure that'll take me a long time since I'm terrified of it. The talking house is adamant about lighting, which is another thing I wasn't sure I was going to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Oh man - now I'm thinking that might be just the way to go. All the accessories do tell who lives there. Maybe I'll wait on the dolls until I can find/make the perfect couple. Oh, man ... take a look at this couple! Laura DuBois's website -- Farm Couple At $1250 for the pair, they're awfully pricey ... but absolutely charming! They are by Marcia Backstrom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 That's so great - they're pretty close to perfect!! AND, perfectly out of my price range!! I wasn't kidding, they're so close to what I had in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 That's so great - they're pretty close to perfect!! AND, perfectly out of my price range!! I wasn't kidding, they're so close to what I had in mind. I've got it ... print out their picture in miniature and frame it for above the fireplace ... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuzyQ Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Oh those 2 do look perfect!! Kathie that is a such great idea about the picture. What do you think Robin? Wow $1,250. Man I need to go into hancrafted dollmaking!!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 That's a great idea. It'll be like having my own version of American Gothic by Grant Wood. (Always loved that painting!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymew Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 The farm couple are adorable! I'm one of the collectors that likes to have dolls in her dollhouse. Here's my latest acquisition (well I've not received her yet ... but she was mailed yesterday): http://www.lilslittles.com/ Her name is Pearl. She's 3 1/2 inches tall. She's the first doll I've bought from this artisan. -Susanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 She's precious! and the rest of her dolls are really lovely, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 What a cute doll, Susanne! She looks a bit like the young Drew Barrymore. This artist's dolls have really lovely faces, love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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