PixxieHobbits

One of the things I've been working on is a new shop on Etsy called Fantasy Bears. I've always loved making plush toys, and so I decided to try and turn that passion into a career of sorts. It's relaxing between writing and doing doll stuff. Also, it helps me expand my business. And today I had a new bear to put up and a bit of inspiration struck me to do a little photo shoot. These are a number of the animals I have available right now. You've probably seen a couple before on here, because I still haven't sold them. But there are some unfamiliar faces too. First is Daybreak. He's the one who inspired this photo shoot, because he needed to be listed. I did him pretty much entirely yesterday. I didn't have anything else to do, so I just started him in the morning and worked almost all day until I had finished him. I think he turned out really, really cute! I was so excited, because it's rare for me to be so happy with the finished product. Plu...

A few weeks ago I worked on some face-ups for some new members of my crew. It was a little exhausting painting all of these dolls, so I've been taking a break for a couple of weeks. Plus it's been pretty hot here, and I wanted to wait for a little better weather. I'd really like to get at least Ransom painted this summer as well. This is Forester. He's a blind psychic teen who's staying with Atlas and Damian for the time being. I got his head earlier this year and then had to wait quite a while for his body. First for me actually to purchase it and then for it to come. (Shipping has been absolutely awful this year!) You might notice that Forester is the one who "pilfered" Cal's old wig. It looks great on Forester and fits him better too, so he's keeping it now. I love how well Forester's face-up turned out. I think he and Cory are the two most realistic faces I've ever done. Oh, and his eyes have changed since I took this photo. I...

Last time, I introduced Cory and stated that he would be getting a new wig. I shopped around a bit, though, because I really wanted a good brown wig, and I also wanted it to fit. One of the most difficult things I find in wig buying is getting the size that's advertised and also a style that's not terribly different from the pictures. Luckily, I found a brown wig on Fabric and Friends that I really liked. Not only was the color good, the style wasn't too bad either. I may need to trim the bangs a little, because of how they hang in his eyes, but I'm going to wait a bit before I go there. My hair cutting skills need work. Another character who needed a new wig was Cal. I really liked Cal's old wig, both the color and the style, however, it sloshed on Cal. Because it ran too large, even hot-glue sueding Cal's head cap did nothing to fix it, so I considered replacing it. I'd looked around a lot, but when I was scrolling through Fabric and Friends' wi...

So two Sundays ago, I purchased a new doll on eBay. He arrived on Friday and I got him cleaned up. Then yesterday I made time to paint him. I don't know what the previous owner was going for with his character, but the face-up was definitely messy. It felt really smooth too, like un-sealed resin. He's a Doll Family-H Nan Xing, which has always been one of my favorite sculpts, and he was a really good price, but I did worry a little because I had no idea how much effort would have to go into removing his face and what would be underneath. When I inspected him upon arrival, the black around his eyes and eyebrows looked suspiciously like marker, maybe dry erase? The line in his lips was definitely acrylic paint. The rest might've been pastel, but to be honest I'm not sure. All I know is it came off surprisingly easy with warm water and a magic eraser. Fifteen minutes or more of a pain-staking scrubbing and he was almost as good as new. He had a few marks that ...

Did a photo shoot with Bryce a couple of weeks ago. I was re-doing pictures for the sweaters we have up for sale, but I was having a little difficulty choosing a wig to match the blue sweater, so I decided to play around with it and try them all and then take pictures just for fun. First I had a light strawberry blonde wig I got from Monique Trading Co. It's a great color and style on him, but Monique wigs run big, which means I had to be careful not to bump it during the photos. It matched the Hawaiian shirt I was putting up for sale that day. This one. I brightened the photo in post. It also looked great with this camouflage sweater. He could use that sweater today, as it's overcast and rainy at my house. Then we had the wig that I defaulted him to when I first got him. I still love this wig on him. It's also from Monique Trading Co and sloshes a little, but he looks so cute in it I don't mind. Another Monique Trading Co wig, this bright red w...

I got a new doll earlier this year. His name is Gyl, and his character is a dragon in human form. He's so little, the perfect size to travel. He fit Ken doll clothes, so for the first few weeks he wore Ken clothes while I got ready to draft him some patterns and then make him something. Here he's wearing Ken shoes, Ken pants, a shirt I made him, and a vest I made him. Next I made him some PJs, and a little dragon themed teddy bear. His dragon teddy has wings, a tail, horns, and an extra set of dragon ears along with his teddy ears. Here's a better look at his PJs, and the bean bag I made for him. I did his bean bag in a gray flannel fabric because I wanted it to look a little like a boulder. And a closer look at his PJs. His pants are flannel, his shirt is knit fabric with a decal I printed off, and I made his slippers too. They're fleece. Then yesterday I finally finished a medieval costume for him, and so I had to grab Akbadain and t...