Hmm...

As a child, I NEVER liked dolls. I much preferred plush friends. Dolls just creeped me out... and I'm sure it had to do with their stares, and my over active imagination.

When you were a child, did you ever stare so long, and so intently at an inanimate object that your mind started playing tricks, and the object started to appear to move? I'm not sure what causes this... or if it's just my crazy brain that does this... but when it came to doll eyes, I was always afraid that one day I'd look over and they'd be staring at me. They'd ALL be staring at me... and the belief that they could even accomplish such a task came from those periods where I'd stare intently at them and my imagination would kick into overdrive.

Well, as an adult, that childhood fear died when I came across Asian Ball Jointed Dolls. I don't know if it's because they resemble cartoons, or if it's because I now take an active part in their customization... but they just don't scare me, for the most part (granted, at one point I owned one who looked so real that I just had to sell him... I still, foolishly, believed one day I'd wake up and he'd be staring at me)

My personal taste in these dolls leans towards the small, cute ones (I'll post pictures some day, or you can check out www.travelingtwig.blogspot.com to see a weird little blue elf one). The small ones are easy to transport... and I'm the kind of person who likes to travel and document with photographs... so I always have leaned towards things that can travel with me.

However, I have found one larger doll (43cm)... not the largest of this type of doll, by any means, but just about as big as I'd ever want to go. She has a meloncholy look at times, and there is just something about the 'sad, quiet princess' persona that draws me in when it comes to dolls. I love it when they look like they could be reminiscing about the past...

I know this seems like a bit of a random post for a crafts blog... and while I did not sculpt the doll, I did paint her face... and I love that about these dolls, that you can have such a dramatic effect on their expression with nothing more than a paintbrush and some paints.

Anyhow, here's a pic of the wee princess... she currently doesn't have any sort of name... and maybe I'll just leave her nameless... it's kind of mysterious that way: