Friday, June 6, 2014

Friday Azone Update

Ok, there isn't much going on by way of Azone news,
so let's do a clothing review!


I recently bought all three color variations of the Picco Neemo Flower Dress...
and I have to say, TOTALLY WORTH IT.

These sets are super cute.
They came with the shirt and dress (no socks or undies).

I will list out what I liked and disliked about these dress sets!

LIKE
1. They're CUTE AS HECK. I love the design and style.
2. The material used is fabulous.
3. All fasteners used are easy to handle (no impossible buttons or hooks or anything)
DISLIKE
1. The Beige and Pink set (on the far left) came with a flawed skirt ruffle. I can fix it easily, but I'm still noting it, since it is a defect.
2. The skirts are flat without an underskirt (I kept them all in their default outfit underskirts... which work great with these dresses!)

All in all, I'd say buy them if you get the chance, they're adorable!

•••

I recently had someone ask about Picco Neemo D (aka, Lil Fairy) shoes... as in,
what kind do they fit into?

Let's have a little look-see, shall we?

As you can see... Lil Fairy fat little feet fit into a variety of shoes!
On the far left we have RubyRed Brand shoes for a Lati Yellow,
in the middle, we have regular Pure Neemo shoes,
and on the right are the default Picco Neemo shoes that the Lil Fairy came with.

I do think some Lati Yellow shoes might be loose,
just like some Pure Neemo shoes don't work (the Lil Fairy dolls have a higher foot arch than the Pure Neemos do, so shoes that are restrictive (like boots) might only sometimes work, depending on the pair of boots you have.

I should also mention, the center pair of feet are wearing a pair of Picco Neemo D socks that I ordered, which I'm pretty sure will work on the Pure Neemo gals too... but these little socks with lace trim are cute as heck! :)


I will leave you with one little image from Azone:
©Azone
Nya! Twins
Aren't they cute??

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Free Faux Suede at Spoonflower!

 A little bit random, but...
Get your free swatch of faux suede in any spoonflower print you want!

From Noon today until Noon tomorrow!

http://www.spoonflower.com/faux_suede

It's just the test size... but for dollies, that can make quite a few lovely things!
Plus, it's FREE! XD

Monday, June 2, 2014

Friday Azone Update (a little late!)

Time for the Azone Update!
 
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pure Neemos for Preorder,
changes to Picco Neemos,
new 1/3 girl

 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

☆ · . . · ° ° ·. . · °★ ° ·. . · ° ° ·. . ·☆
Pure Neemo (1/6 scale)
☆ · . . · ° ° ·. . · °★ ° ·. . · ° ° ·. . ·☆

The Preorder Period has begun for Ex☆Cute -Best Selection Lien

Her preorder will run from June 2nd - June 30th

Price: ¥ 12,000 (roughly $120 USD)
Smiling Version: http://www.hlj.com/product/AZNPOD004BLN/Dol
©Azone

Normal Version:
http://www.hlj.com/product/AZNPOD004BLS/Dol
©Azone

.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 *゚+.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 * ° +.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 *゚+.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 * ° +

©Azone

©Azone

.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 *゚+.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 * ° +.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 *゚+.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 * ° +

Folks who preorder one of these girls will get an illustration as well.
(well, folks who preorder them in Japan)

©Azone

.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 *゚+.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 * ° +.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 *゚+.。 *゚+.*.。 +..。 * ° +

☆ · . . · ° ° ·. . · °★ ° ·. . · ° ° ·. . ·☆
Picco Neemo (1/12 scale)
☆ · . . · ° ° ·. . · °★ ° ·. . · ° ° ·. . ·☆
 Some Picco Neemo news...
If any of you own Picco Neemo, you'll know that up until now,
They've had hard plastic heads (unlike Pure Neemo's soft ones).

I guess people were complaining about this...
so supposedly, starting with Himeno
(I think... either that or it's starting right *after* Himeno)
the Picco Neemo will have soft heads as well.

ALSO!!
If you are interested in ordering Picco Neemo Miu,
keep an eye out, she'll be going up for preorder today!

☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆… ☆


☆
·
.
.
·
°
° ·.
. · °
★ ° ·.
. · ° ° ·. . ·☆
Azone (1/3 scale)
☆ · . . · ° ° ·. . · °★ ° ·. . · ° ° ·. . ·☆
Black Raven Cecily on new AZ02 body
©Azone
©Azone
Preorder: June 5th, 2014
Price:
¥ 45,000 (Roughly $450 USD)
 

Adventurers Club: June


It's a new month, therefore, time for a new ADVENTURE!!!!
Welcome, Adventurers!

 Are you ready for another month of adventure?
We've been having a lot of fun so far, I'm excited to see what adventures await!!!

NEWSFLASH!!!
There are new ways to share your Adventures!
Join the Flickr group: The Adventurer's Club
(Monthly Theme icons will be posted there as well)
Or, if you have a blogger account,
let me know the email attached to it,
and I will add you as an author to the Adventurers Club
blogger blog!
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
June Theme:
Your Own Backyard
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Sometimes an adventure awaits you in your own backyard!

You never know what you might find,
going out of your own back door!
Or maybe your "backyard" is somewhere in the house?
Or maybe you consider your backyard somewhere else all together?
Wherever, or whatever your backyard is,
this month is the month to have an adventure in it!

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Perhaps you're new to the Adventurer's Club...
Would you like to join the Adventurer's Club?
"What is it?" you ask?
The Adventurer's Club is a monthly photo challenge.
The "theme" for the month is vague enough that you can complete the task indoors if you're not a "drag your dolly out in public" kinda person.

ALL DOLL TYPES ARE WELCOME!
On the FIRST DAY of every month, I will reveal that month's theme.

There will be participation prizes...
these will be given out on a "number of months participated" basis.
There will be a 6 month and 12 month participation prize.

The months will be cumulative, because I know life happens and sometimes we might miss a month.
Although I'm thinking I might have to make an extra special prize for anyone who participates for 12 months straight!
You can find the theme on the Adventurer's Club tab, here:

Don't feel like you have to have a masterpiece photograph either,
snap the shot with your cell phone, a point and shoot or a pro camera,
it doesn't matter, just as long as the resulting image is theme related!

How do you participate?
Simple!
1. Take your photo that relates to the theme

2. Share that photo on the Adventurers Club blog ( http://dolladventurersclub.blogspot.com/ ), with me (via email, posting a comment with a link, etc), on our Flickr Group:
  or by tagging me, @littlebearries on Instagram!
(In the righthand side bar at the top of the page, you will see a link button back to this post)
My email is: littlebearries@yahoo.com


Please feel free to include a little caption for your image that describes what is going on, as well as any link to your own blog or website, and your doll's name, if these are things you'd like to share!

Friday, May 30, 2014

Mid-Month Tutorial #5: Zakka Life's Miniature Colored Pencils

I know this one is a little late...
but I wanted to get it in before the month ended!
(Friday Azone Update will be later today... but don't worry, nothing time-sensitive is going on)


Tutorial #5 is Zakka Life's Miniature Colored Pencil tutorial!
It's easy, cheap, not a huge investment of time and yields great results!

**NOTE**
These pencils don't actually write, they're just for show.
 
Please see the original tutorial here:

Supplies:

1. Round Toothpicks
2. Scissors
3. Markers
4. Sandpaper
5. (Optional) Mod Podge

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Let's begin!
Step 1:
Take a single toothpick from the box and decide how long you'll want your colored pencil to be.
Zakka Life's instructions say to cut the toothpick in half... but for me, that would have been too long, proportionally, so my toothpicks are about 1.125 inches long.
A little less than half a toothpick.


TIP:

Step 2:
Sand the end of your pencil so that it's nice and rounded.
I used 220 Very Fine 3M sandpaper.
 I didn't even have to take it out of the package to use it XD

Step 3:
Now it's time for coloring!
**IMPORTANT**
Do NOT handle your dolls while you're coloring these... you *will* get marker on your fingers,
unless you wear gloves... and it could be unintentionally transferred to your dolls, or their clothes.
I color the pencil tip first... and to color it, I just dab the marker against the toothpick tip... because toothpicks are made from a soft wood, they absorb the ink, and it spreads a little... so don't get overzealous right away with the ink application.

Then again... if you do... it's just a toothpick... there are plenty more to try again on!





Next I color the body of the pencil:

Step 4:
Let the markers dry for 24 hours.
(This is not a step in Zakka Life's instructions... but I'd rather be safe than sorry!)

Step 5:
(optional)
Let's take a minute to discuss dolls and markers.

Bottom line?
They don't mix.

I've seen many a doll ruined with Sharpie markers... some intentionally, some, not so much so.

After I made these colored pencils, I let them dry for 24 hours,
then I took the darkest one and rubbed it against my doll's skin.

Light rubbing was fine, no color transfer,
but harder rubbing (like if you were going to shove it into the doll's hand between fingers)
yielded color transfer.

I wiped it off right away, and it all came off... but it still worries me that if you left a pencil in a doll's hand, color transfer would happen over time.

My solution?
Coat the pencils in Mod Podge to seal the color in.
Glossy or Matte, your choice.


Conclusion:
I LOVE this tutorial... there is something so satisfying about coloring these pencils and seeing them come to life.



Thursday, May 29, 2014

Check out this cutie!

 From seller Nijo1203
 The auction is for the head only, I believe, but current bidding isn't very high!
©Nijo1203

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Last Week for May's Adventure!



Have you taken part in May's Adventurers Club Adventure to find
If not, you have until Saturday night! 
Then, Sunday morning, we'll be starting June's Adventure!

There have been some great, scary adventures so far!!!

A huge thank you to everyone who has been participating so far this year in The Adventurers Club!