Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family! <3

IG Photodump: MM Christmas Party + Random Elie Pics

I got an android phone as a gift last November, thanks to my BF! <3, and one of the first things I did was to get Instagram. I love how easy it is to share photos with it! My IG username is @madznievera. Follow me!

And now that I have an app that enables me to do quick photo uploads, I'll be doing a semi-regular Instagram photodump here. Please excuse the current layout, I haven't configured my IG with my Flickr yet so I have to use IG's embed code for now.


Manika Manila Monito Manika 2013

Manika Manila recently held our Monito Manika Christmas Party at Casa Patdes. It was Elie's first proper doll meet, so she got very excited to meet other kids.

Fun Fact: This photo is their very first family photo!

Fruit Ninjas

Just a quick photostory to start the week. 

Little Bear in the Forest

Last November 2, I brought Elie along for a quick trip to Antipolo with my family. It was her first out of town trip! She enjoyed roaming around the shrubbery and climbing 'giant' roots.

A Doll Raffle for the Victims of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda

Last Friday, Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, the strongest storm to make a landfall in recorded history, hit the Philippines and caused major damage in the Visayas region. Thousands are feared to be dead. Those who survived lost their homes and belongings. At the moment, they are now struggling to survive the aftermath of the storm.

I am lucky and extremely grateful that the storm did not hit the area I live in. This is why I am trying to donate as much as I can to help those in need.

Trisha has started a fund raiser in a form of a doll raffle to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. The following text is taken directly from her blog:

A DOLL RAFFLE FOR THE VICTIMS OF TYPHOON YOLANDA

Typhoon Yolanda, the world’s strongest tropical cyclone to ever hit land, made landfall in the Philippines early last Friday, November 8 2013. The super typhoon with the international name Haiyan has left an unspeakable amount of devastation in its wake. The most recent news from the Department of Social Welfare and Development estimates a total of 9.5 million people affected by the typhoon, either by loss of property, livelihood, or loved ones, a number of the country’s poorest provinces ravaged directly by the typhoon.

My name is Trisha Descallar, and I am a BJD owner and enthusiast based in Manila, Philippines. My part of the country was not too terribly affected by the typhoon, but I am still, nonetheless, affected by the plight of my countrymen in Eastern Visayas.

In 2011, Typhoon Sendong hit my country, dumping one month’s worth of rain in just one night on Northern Mindanao. I was already very active in my local BJD community then, and decided to go out on a limb and combine my hobby and my desire to help in order to raise funds for relief operations. Utilizing the power of my friends and social media, that little endeavor of mine managed to raise $332 or P14,445, which was promptly turned over to Simbahan Lingkod ng Bayan, a Jesuit organization based in my school, the Ateneo de Manila University.

Now, it is 2013, and I would like to once again appeal to the generosity of my friends in the doll hobby.

DONATE TO TYPHOON YOLANDA RELIEF OPERATIONS AND GET THE CHANCE TO WIN EITHER A MYSTIC KIDS 1/4 BJD OR A LUTS TINY DELF OF YOUR CHOICE!!!

Mechanics:


0. This mechanics posted on this entry apply to entries from the Philippines only. International users, please click here.

1. Each donation of PHP 250 is the equivalent of one (1) raffle entry. There is no limit to the amount of raffle entries you can earn, so the more you give, the more chances you get of winning.

2. Make your donation directly to the Philippine Red Cross via bank deposit, Cebuana Lhuillier, or Paypal only. A list payment details can be found here.

3. Send a scan/photo of your validated transaction slip from the bank, or a screenshot of your donation receipt from Paypal to trisha.descallar@yahoo.com, along with the following details:

Email Subject: DOLL RAFFLE DONATION PH - [LAST NAME, FIRST NAME]

Full Name:
Facebook URL: (write N/A if not applicable)
Tumblr URL: (write N/A if not applicable)
Shipping Address:
Cellphone Number:
Email Address:
Confirmation #: (for Paypal donations only)
Total Donation in Philippine Peso:
Doll of Choice:

This step is crucial for your entry to be acknowledged.

4. I will reply to your email to acknowledge your entry/ies, and assign you a raffle number. This number will be based on the chronological receipt of your message as it appears in my inbox. All entries will be replied to and acknowledged.

5. The accepting of raffle entries will close on December 13 2013, Friday, 11:59pm. Any entries received after this time will not be counted for the raffle draw.

6. A winner will be selected via random.org. The winner will be posted here on this blog on or before December 15 2013, Sunday.

7. I will coordinate with the winner in private about how the prize will be ordered and received. I will post status updates here about how that process is going here on this blog as well.

The Prize:


1. The winner of the raffle can choose either one (1) Mystic Kids 1/4 or one (1) Luts Tiny Delf. Only one (1) winner will be chosen and only one (1) doll will be won.

2. The Mystic Kids 1/4 will be ordered from Alice’s Collections and the Luts Tiny Delf will be ordered from Luts.

3. The choices available for the Mystic Kids 1/4 are as follows: Victor, Caroline, Evelyn,Francis, Gene, Illy, Lillian, Natalia, and Sean. If the winner wants a Mystic Kids 1/4, these are the only choices available for the prize.

3a. The resin colors available for the Mystic Kids 1/4 are as follows: Normal Pink, Normal Yellow, White. If the winner wants a Mystic Kids 1/4, these are the only choices available for the prize.

4. The choices available for the Luts Tiny Delf are as follows: Hansel, Gretel, Louis, Alice,Peter, and Dorothy. If a winner wants a Luts Tiny Delf, these are the only choices available for the prize.

4a. The resin colors available for the Luts Tiny Delf are as follows: Real Skin Normal, Real Skin White, Real Skin Brown. If a winner wants a Luts Tiny Delf, these are the only choices available for the prize.

5. The raffle prize is only valid for the dolls mentioned in #3 and #4. The raffle prize is non-transferable and is not convertible to cash.

6. The raffle prize is absolutely only for the blank head and doll body. This does not include any options such as faceups, body blushing, clothes, special resin colors, and the like.

6a. The winner, however, can choose to add the difference for these extra options. This will be discussed with the winner once the winner is chosen.

Please donate and spread the word! Thank you very much!

Dear Resin BJD Wig Review III

Its been a while since my last wig review post. By a while meaning 9 months. Nine freaking months. To be honest, I kinda forgot that this post is still a draft buried under 20+ posts. This has been a draft for too long that I already acquired a new wig from Licht, and I have one on the way from Leeke. Aside from those, I also intend to get two more from Crobidoll, hopefully by December. Yes, I am a wig hoarder.

  

Anyway, let's get on with the review! This post contains two of my most favorite (and most used!) wigs.

Pic heavy post ahead!

Elie's Face-Up

As promised, here is Elie's first face-up session with me.

My plan is to give her a natural face-up but with very pink cheeks since I love how fluffy they are. 

Freshly washed face! 

Elie's Box Opening!

As promised, here is Elie's box opening post!

Aurelie, or Elie for short, is a Lati Yellow Sunny. Sunny is one of the molds I have always wanted! I love her big eyes, her pouty lips and her fluffy cheeks. Hee~ Makes me wanna pinch her, gently of course.

I had Elie ordered direct from Latidoll last June 19, almost at the end of the order period that time. After almost 3 long months of waiting, Elie was marked as shipped by Lati last September 11, and finally arrived in the Philippines on September 16. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, my friend (who orders my dolls for me) was only able to pick her up at Customs on October 4.

While waiting for her to come home, I was itching to just blurt out my frustrations about the wait time on my social media accounts, but I wanted her to be a 'surprise' to my BJD friends who knew that I've always wanted to have my own Lati (hello MM girls!). I even brought her along during a doll meet (the MK meet), but she stayed in my bag since she doesn't have a face-up yet.

More babbling in this blog post. Now on with the box opening pictures!

The extremely battered outer box! One side of the box noted that it was received this way.

MM Tiangge 2013 Preview

A few more hours to go before this year's Manika Manila Tiangge! I'm very excited and nervous. Excited because this is one of the biggest MM events of the year and I'll be able to show off and sell the clothes I make, but at the same time, nervous because I feel like I'm not well-prepared. Gah, I only have a few more hours to finish all these clothes and work on my display. Haha. 

Sorry for blabbing too much! I missed blogging here. Anyway, here's a quick preview of the clothes I'll be selling tomorrow.

Dear Resin at the Manika Manila Tiangge 2013

Hello everyone!

I'd like to announce that I will be attending the Manika Manila Tiangge 2013 as a Seller! Woot! This is my second time as a seller for our annual event.

For more details about the event, please visit Tiangge website at http://manikamanila.com/tiangge/. See you there!

Special thanks to Yume of Noeru's Closet for my shop's logo. <3

Credits to Courthouse for some of the logo images. 

Éphémère Behind-The-Scenes

Aside from Axis and Kamael, a few more dolls attended our mini-meet for the Éphémère photoshoot. 

Alice and Mariposa was also there! <3 Plus one special guest below~

Movie Date with Alice: Despicable Me 2

Just a few days after watching Pacific Rim with Axis, it was Alice's turn to go out with me for a movie. Tom decided to come along as well.

Éphémère

New photostory, aww yis!

This time, we have a guest from another household. You have seen him before on Axis' birthday post. Say hi to Kamael! 

Today's photostory is a bit short. I was supposed to take more shots for a few more dialogues, but it suddenly rained! I had to settle for a shorter version of the story.

Here's the legend for the dialogue:

On with the story!

Alice at ToyCon 2013

Late post is late! OTL

Alice and I dropped by the ToyCon last June 16 to hang out with one of my friends and look around for some nice cheap toys. There's also a toy exhibit inside the convention hall, so we decided to check out the displays.

Awesome Kenshin figure is awesome!

Movie Date with Axis: Pacific Rim

A few weeks ago, I went out to watch Pacific Rim with Axis. This was my first time to watch a movie with one of my resin kids.

Manika Manila at Oh No Manga Cosplay Camp 2

Ohai! I didn't realize that its been over two weeks since I last posted anything. Life has been pretty busy but fun! I still don't have much time to sew, but I'm planning out my schedule for the next few weeks to accommodate that.

Anyway, Manika Manila was invited to have a BJD exhibit at Oh No Manga Cosplay Camp 2. The event was held last July 7 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia.

Pensive

Magi Shoot

A few weeks ago, we went to a nearby studio for a Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic shoot. My resin kids thought it would be fun to join the shoot so they tagged along.

No Carrier? No Problem

One of the first things I splurged on after getting Alice is a proper carrier. I always use public transport when I go around the metro, so a good carrier is a reasonable investment as a doll owner. Good thing I immediately found a local bag-maker accepts custom orders. Too bad they don't accept custom orders anymore.

From years ago. XD No watermark yet.

But now that I live in an area that's fairly close to where we usually hold meets, I no longer have the pressing need to always bring my dolls in a carrier. And to be honest, carriers are somewhat difficult to lug around. I tend to accidentally hit other people when I walk around with it. Its also difficult to find a hiding spot in our office locker area  for the carrier when I bring a doll to work.

So I decided to try something so dangerous that my previous overly-protective-BJD-mama self will freak out. I tried to bring my doll in a tote bag.

Click read more to see my ~*technique*~! Its not exactly new, but it works for me. This may also be useful for doll owners (especially SD owners) who don't have their own carriers yet.

Happy Birthday Alice!

On Alice's birthday, she went with me to the office to hang out. She had fun chilling on my work station while reading all the reports I'm working on.

For the celebration part of her day, we opted to have a quiet evening at home with a few friends.

Guess who forgot to buy a candle?

Two years

Time sure flies by fast.

Strong Shoulders

While everyone was away for the Manika Manila Pool Party, I had stay at home and work on some stuff. OTL Out of boredom, Axis decided to test the limits of his resin body and try a bit of lifting.

Achieve!!

Please excuse our messy place (I was working and fiddling with dolls at the same time XD).

A Little Announcement

Hello everyone! Sorry for the inactivity in this blog. This post will pretty much explain my absence, so read up! XD

Rest When You're Tired

Into the Woods

First off, I would like to congratulate the Manika Manila Mods for launching our very own Manika Manila Forums! Good job guys! If you're from the Philippines and you're interested in knowing more about the hobby, please go ahead and register. We'd love to have you there. :)

***

Its been a while since I last did a look book post. My first two looks were mostly handmade outfits. But this time, majority of their clothes are bought from various stores. Yay!

More details after the cut!

Meet Ares

Someone here has been a good boy.

Head Comparison: Doll Love vs. Iplehouse

A few weeks ago, some forum members on Den of Angels Doll Love (Large) discussion thread mentioned that they are having difficulty posing their doll's heads. I noticed this on Alice too, she can turn her head left and right, but can't look up or down. Its not really a bother, but it does limit the number of poses she make.

Meanwhile, Axis has no difficulty posing his head at all. He can look up or down with ease. So I decided to do a few comparison photos to check the difference between their heads.

Pretty profiles. :)

Travel Bunnies

My Milk Bunnies are my constant companions. They're very small, so they can easily sneak in my bag! Aah, the perks of having small buddies. This is why I want a Tiny.

For our company outing this year, we went to Lola Corazon's Leisure Farm in Pampanga. The bunnies came along to join the party!

A Day-Out with Friends

Last week, I met up with some of my close friends for a random day-out with our dolls. It feels like it's been a while since I brought out my resin kids.

We went to Cafe Mary Grace at Greenbelt 2.

Alice was seriously thinking about the chocolate cake on display. Must. Resist. Temptation.

Story Night Fridays

For Alice and Axis, Friday nights are usually spent in a quiet corner of the house, with a lot of stories about far away kingdoms and fantasy worlds. The stories would go on until one of them falls asleep. :')

This is my entry for Manika Manila Themes: Friday Night. :)

Happy Birthday Axis!

I cant believe he's been with me for a year now.

Axis' birthday is February 29, but since that date only comes once every four years, we opted to celebrate last March 1 (because he's a Mars and Mars is the planet for the month of March. What.). I brought him to work so we can have a mini celebration afterwards.

Of course, this cheese-loving birthday boy has to have a cheesecake on his special day.

My Little Shoe Collection

December was a flurry of Winter sales, Christmas doll-related shopping sprees, and Taobao Group Orders. I knew this was my chance to buy some much needed items so I joined a few G.O.s to save on shipping and custom fees. 

I now have an actual shoe collection for my crew! /o/ Finally!

They've been using the same pair of shoes for months so I knew I had to hoard shoes. My bank account is not happy though.

Manika Manila Valentine's Meet 2013: Blind Date

Last year, we had a simple Valentine's Meet at Stacy's. Our dolls dressed in their best red outfits, we had delicious food, and us humans had a lot of fun. This year, the awesome Mods of Manika Manila whipped up something new for one of our major meets of the year.

And can I just say: ONE OF THE BEST. MEETS. EVER. I keep on saying that our meets are awesome and blah blah, but this one goes straight to the top. No joke. I don't even know how they come up with these things, I swear.

Warning: Long and pic heavy post ahead!

It doesn't have to be dark for the nightmares to come

Random photos... Again! XD

Yet another set of random pictures from my camera. I should seriously devote time to arrange my stuff. :)

Axis *finally* got a few much needed items from our Taobao G.O. He got two shirts, two briefs, and a new pair of shoes! We're still waiting for a pair of jeans from Cross Church and another pair of shoes from another G.O.

This is Shimao Atsushi from the anime Natsuyuki Rendevous. And he kinda looks like Axis. Hoho~ XD. Please watch this series if you have time! <3

And now, for some really really delayed photos!

A Monster Commission

A few months ago, I received an inquiry for a few dresses for Blythe and Monster High dolls. I was a bit hesitant to accept at first, but hey, a commission is a commission. Also, I wanted to see if I can actually make  dresses in that scale.

To help me with this commission, I asked a friend to lend me her MH doll, Misfit. Super thanks Kuri! <3

She's wearing the Blythe dress in this photo. XD

More photos after the jump!

Balkan Dinner

A few weeks ago, I met up with a few Manika Manila friends to hand-over their Taobao G.O. loot. We decided to have dinner in this Yugoslavian restaurant near our offices.

Its my first time to try Yugoslavian food. To be honest, its not really that different (or maybe I was expecting something really different?). But still, its really really good!

Glorious, glorious food~

Dear Resin BJD Wig Review II

And we're on to Part II! Woohoo! This post includes one of the wigs from my current favorite wig source: Crobidoll!

The moment I started to share the first wig post, I knew someone would ask me about my Crobi wigs (hello Kanis!). See, I have this very obvious bias towards Crobidoll wigs. I am so biased that I would always recommend their wigs to everyone. But I wanted to do this review series in order, so I had to put up the first ones I acquired since I stared the hobby. 

Again, warning: Pic heavy post ahead!

I Got A Secret

Alice and I went to a fashion shoot yesterday. It's for a friend's shop, so I can only post a few pics here.

One more under the cut! :)

Dear Resin BJD Wig Review I

Part Two posted! See it here.

***

Hello 2013! As usual, things are pretty busy around here on my end. Aside from my day job, I'm also a bit swamped with commissions. Thank you guys! :)

Anyway, let's talk about one of my favorite BJD items: wigs. I love them! I don't have that much, but between two dolls, I own eight wigs - two for Axis, five for Alice, and an unclaimed "experiment" fur wig. Wigs can easily change the whole look of the doll - even without changing their face-up. I distinctly  remember the feeling of awe when I first changed Alice's wig from a long straight wig to a wavy wig. It was like having a whole new doll!

As a little project for my blog, I'll be doing a series of wig review posts on all the wigs I own. I hope you find my posts informative. :)

An opening photo just because. XD

Warning: Pic heavy post!