Saturday, February 2, 2013

Confessions


Incase you've noticed, I've been gone from YouTube/Blogging/Flickr Stream/Entire Doll universe, and I really don't want to lie. I don't want to keep anything from you, I want to have an honest and open "relationship" (hey, it's true, I love you guys). Well, here we go...

For about a week, I was considering not doing anything will my dolls anymore.

THERE I SAID IT.
I understand that the vast majority of you don't actually care... so you have my full permission to leave. I don't mind if you don't mind, because it's really not all that much of a big deal. But if you want to hear then I will explain in full and graphic detail (kidding, it's not that exciting...) what was racing through my mind.
I can blame part of it on all the stress I was going under: it was the week before my first high school exams, and as a break from studying I was hanging out with someone who I can genuinely say is one of my favourite people ever. We were talking about the possibility of re-doing her room this summer, and I mentioned the fact that my closet was an alarming and ghastly shade of pink, that I had chosen when I was five (her entire room was a bright tie-die purple). Then she said "Yeah, but it's full of dolls, creepy, man... I mean, it's really really cool that you have a business, and that you sew clothes... but dolls, man." I already knew her opinion on my dolls. I did, and I guess I was definitely kind of embarrassed at the fact that they were 'creepy'.
So that night I lay in bed, with a weight in my stomach, thinking. I told myself I would keep only a select few dolls out, to model my Etsy clothing, and put the rest in their boxes in my closet. I would only keep out a select few other items of clothing. I would get rid of my entire doll house, just keep the top shelf to keep my other dolls on. I was honestly so embarrassed that something I did was considered 'creepy', not cool, not something more than socially acceptable. I kept this thought in my mind basically all through exams.
But hey... you remember that one I time I was filming the last episode of 'I wrote a book', and had to throw my dolls behind a fence and pretend to just be taking pictures, because there were people my age coming?
Or do you remember the time I pretended my driveway was central park?

I decided eventually I would not leave. 
That, you know what? Dolls are pretty creepy! People have their entire right to think that! But it does not need to be a collective opinion of everyone on the planet. It's not something I do for, or with my school friends. I won't keep it a secret from them, but if they want to know, let them know. Let them think it's creepy. But I am entirely entitled to my own opinion, and in this situation it is sometimes harder to stick to your own opinion. But honestly, I do like what I do, and I want to continue doing it.

Videos have alway been less frequent recently, mainly because of school, my band, exams, a play I'm in, my dance class, in the summer I'll have soccer, friends, and even though my extracurriculars are currently cancelled (poop.), once they get started up I'll have them again. I can't be a superhuman, I can't do everything, all the time, and be perfect at it. However, I will try my best and hopefully in the end come out with something worth watching.

So this is why I slaved away at a computer at 11 o'clock at night when I really should have been sleeping, but hey! It needed to be said, someone needed to say it. So it may as well have been me.

Now go watch this video:


you may have already seen it, but I think it entirely fits the theme of this post.
Thank you.
You guys are lovely.

Ahh, now that that weight is off my chest, I'll hopefully have an 'all of my dolls' video up tomorrow, after 3 years since my last one... :)

-Charlotte

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Years!

Happy new years everyone!
One of my new years resolutions is to try and post something interesting at least once a month on this blog (this post not being one of them...!)
I shall be ordering a new doll very soon (NOT SAIGE. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HER), and then I will re-do my header, although I may or may not keep the chickens, I rather like them!
So yes, I shall see you soon lovelies!
Thanks for 70 followers! :D
-charlotte <3 p="p">

Monday, November 12, 2012

Approval?

You like? :)
I'll be selling 3 of these, $10 each.
And things are for sure going up on Wednesday evening!
With christmas shipping as an option this year :)

Charlotte

Monday, October 22, 2012

Plaid Shirt, Style #2

Yeah! Another Plaid Shirt style done. Now I have 4 shirts done, 4 more to go! :D Are you guys excited? I think I'm going to be charging around $17 each for them. ALSO, just a reminder about what the other one looked like:
So yeah! I will be filming a dolloween special SOON-ish, and will hopefully have it up this weekend, and then I'll hopefully also have a photoshoot up, and another dolloween special up on halloween! hopefully :) See you later!
-Charlotte

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Preview of the Plaid Shirts!

I apologize for the awful webcam photo... :P It's 9:30 on a Sunday night, and this is the ONLY plaid shirt I'm done so far, for sale. I have 3 others waiting for velcro, and 4 that have been cut out. There will be 2 like this, and three other different types, 2 of each as well. So yeah! Also, the jeans in the picture (although they're hard to see) will also be for sale! :)
So after this, I just have... about 12 more shirts to sew, and about 8 sets of holiday themed pyjamas. Plus I'll have to finish girloftheyearstudios' 24 white tee shirts as well, although I'm halfway done those. I'm fairly confident I'll be able to finish all this stuff, by the end of the first week of november. I'm thinking probably November 3rd will be the official release date (fingers crossed!)
I'll get back to you on the other styles of plaid shirts... what do you think of this one? :)

I've also been thinking of giving the blog a makeover. I still like the chicken background, and will probably keep that, but I'd like it to have much sharper edges. I'd also like to re-do my doll's page... augh, George isn't even on there :P

In even other news, as soon as I sell about $150 of etsy stuff, I'll be ordering a bunch of stuff from AG! (INCLUDING A NEW DOLL!) YEAH!

see you soon!

-Charlotte

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Sewing like a madman!

Hello blog world!
Long time no... post?
Anyway, the Christmas season is approaching, and I've been sewing like nuts to get things done (hopefully!) for November 1st. I've been trying out some new patterns, and I'm super excited! I just thought I'd post about it to give you a heads up! Here's a list of what I plan on sewing to sell:

  • Red Corduroy Mini Skirts (6) ($12)
  • Dark Wash Denim Skinny Jeans w/ red stitching (3) ($21)
  • Acid Wash Denim Skinny Jeans w/ blue, turquoise and purple stitching (3) ($24)
  • Outer Space inspired tee shirts (6) ($10)
  • Graphic Tees (two different kinds) (2-4 of each) ($9)
  • Plaid Shirts (four different kinds) (2 of each) ($16-18)
  • PJ pants & Tank Top sets (two different sets) (2-4 of each) ($15)
  • and MAYBE some boy doll jeans! No promises, but.... :)
So that's that! I've also decided to offer christmas gift wrapping/shipping as an option this year! I'll list the service as an item on etsy, and what will be different, is that the wrapping will have a special To & From tag on it, and the packages will come in a shipping box with a tracking number. I wanted to offer this option for people buying from my shop as a christmas gift! You know, if there are any... :) Anyway, I'll get back to you on prices for that one later!

I'm sorry I don't have any photos right now! I'm only finished three on the above list, but I'm sure I'll be able to finish everything in time!

Thanks for reading and... stuff... :)

-Charlotte

Friday, August 31, 2012

Summer Movie Information and Fall Plans, etc.

So I realize this will be more interesting, and probably make more sense if you are from YouTube reading this, but there will also be some little tidbits of info in here for all of those who read my blog! I'm just SO sick of making crappy little updated videos on my YouTube. I don't want to be cliché, but I'm probably going to use this blog for fairly important information for my YouTube. I'll definitely still try and post some fun blog stuff, but yeah. I'll add a new label called 'YouTube' so you can know to avoid the post if that's the only label on it. Okay, enough rambling, I need to get on to the point!

So if you are a subscriber/avid watcher of my YouTube, you will know that I was planning on releasing this movie on August 24th:
and.... you will also probably know that I changed that to being released sometime in early September.
The point is, I'm starting High School on Tuesday Sept 4th, and I still have SO much stuff I have to do. It's kind of ridiculous. And I feel so awful, having already had to postpone the premiere type thingy, but the truth is it won't be ready any time this week. I feel like I could rush the ending, and finish it up before school starts, but it would be absolute rubbish, and I would feel like I hadn't done justice to the subject at hand. And it's something that is incredibly close to my heart, that I wouldn't want to screw up.

Anyway. I will definitely not be uploading any parts of the movie before school starts. I will try my best to upload a stop motion that I have all filmed, it just needs to be edited. The point is I don't want to be rushing my videos, or making them sloppily, or trying to fit absolutely everything in when there isn't time. I really want to sew some clothes for my Etsy, which is looking rather empty right now, I am in a band with lots of upcoming gigs, I'm going in to High School after a year of slacking off to the extreme and I'll be taking all academic courses, I have dance class one a week, I'll also be in Jazz Band, which runs twice a week, and I don't want to be a social anomaly (although I'm kind of a nerd... hah!) Let's just say I really want to have time to meet new people :)

I still love dolls, and I really want to make time for them. As much time as possible, actually. I will probably end up spending a large percentage of my free time doing doll stuff. I hope I haven't disappointed you.

OKAY.

The bottom line is, the summer movie I've been filming diligently will not be ready. You can still submit clips to this video, in fact it would be greatly appreciated if you could! I will let you know as soon as I have it all filmed, edited, and ready to go. And hey, I might even be able to have a celebratory TinyChat the day I release it. Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestion?
Please comment and tell me what you think :)
Thanks for being lovely!

-Charlotte

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Pleasant Company vs. Mattel American Girl // A Comparison

Hello there everyone! So, as you can see, my new doll Georgia has arrived (well, she has done more than just arrived, but we'll talk about that later!), and I decided to do a comparison. She is a Pleasant Company Girl of Today (Just Like You, MyAG, etc.), and I will be comparing her to my newest doll Maizee-Liss , who is a Mattel American Girl Felicity Merriman, purchased in 2010. I've noticed several differences in the dolls, and I thought it was interesting how the dolls have evolved, so I thought it would be useful for someone trying to buy a doll, second hand or new. So, let's get to it! :)
1-) Let's start with the hair. I got Georgia second hand, so her hair is not in mint condition, but considering that she is probably older than I am (Mattel bought AG in 1998, the year I was born) and she has been obviously loved, it's in great condition. If my Felicity was that old, I highly doubt her hair would still be that nice, her wig isn't very tight to the head in some areas. However, her hair is a gorgeous colour and it is incredibly silky.
2-) Face mold, eyes, and vinyl colour.
The eyes on both of the dolls are pretty much the same. The eyelashes are different, though. Georgia has thinner, softer, and lighter eyelashes, where as Felicity has thicker, darker, stiffer eyelashes. I feel like the face molds haven't changed all that much, since all of my doll's faces seem to look slightly different, whether they are longer, chubbier, or thinner. The face paint is noticeably different. Georgia's looks more natural in my opinion. Her lips are a slightly lighter colour, Felicity's are peachier. Georgia's actual vinyl looks really natural in person, and Felicity's looks like someone who's wearing more blush, bronzer, concealer, makeup of any sort really. Georgia's cheeks look more naturally pink, while Felicity's look slightly more girly.
3-) I've noticed that Georgia's body is more stuffed than Felicity's. Not only does it look thicker, and her shoulders look broader, but the area around the neck on Felicity is gathering due to lack of stuffing. Also the fabric on Georgia's body matches her vinyl better than Felicity's does. Georgia does not have a tag on her body declaring 'American Girl'.
4-) Georgia seems to have slightly larger arms and hands. I don't know if it's a defect my Felicity has (see this video), or if it's just that Pleasant Company's arms are bigger.
5-) Legs and feet.
The only real difference I see in the legs, is the colour of the vinyl. If you ever get to hold a Pleasant Company doll in your hands, you'll notice that her limbs are slightly softer, or squishier. I'm not sure why. Georgia also has larger feet, so her feet are to big for the tighter AG shoes. If the shoes are tight on your newer dolls there's a very slim chance you'll be able to fit them on your Pleasant Company doll.

* * *
That's really all I've noticed that is of great importance, other than the fact that on the back of Georgia's neck it says Pleasant Company, and on the back of Felicity's neck it says American Girl.
I really hope this has helped you in any way, if you have any questions about either doll, feel free to ask in the comments and I will be glad to answer! :)

-Charlotte <3

Monday, May 21, 2012

George Harrison Doll Update!

Hi there! So I JUST ordered this doll of off Dollabee for $80 total! My mum had a bit of a freak out because she thought she was a bit pricey, but then I explained to her that she's actually only half the price of a new AG doll (with shipping to Canada, taxes, etc.) I'm so excited! I have yet to order his wig, but I think I'm going to see if I can do anything with the wig she has right now. Most likely I'll just get a new wig, but we'll see :)

-charlotte <3

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Etsy Shop Re-Opening

My Etsy Shop re-opening tonight!
I'm selling those shredded jean shorts, all 3 of those shorts, a whole new line of summer skirts, and SO much more! I really hope you'll check it out!
All of the proceeds from my etsy shop are going towards either a new doll, or a new guitar (yes, that is alex turner in the picture!). Thank you so much if you buy something! :)

-charlotte <3

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Guest Post by Priya!

Hi everyone! My name is Priya, and as some of you may know, I own the American Girl Playground blog (americangirlplayground.com). I won 1st place in Charlotte's {awesome} photo contest, so my prize was a guest post here! I have been really excited thinking of what to post, and I have finally decided. So, today I am showing you my sunset photoshoot with Lanie!

So, which ones do you like best? I like the 13th (second to last) one best!

Thank you so much to Charlotte for letting me guest post here! It was a lot of fun!

-Priya <3

{ps. I am so sorry this took so long to get up! my blog photo album is full, so I had to upload the pictures to my photobucket instead, and you know lazy old me... an apology post is on the way! -charlotte <3}

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Movie Tag!

Thank you very much to MissCpFreaks for tagging me! this is her blog: http://misscpfreaksdolls.weebly.com/

Alrighty, here we go! This is going to be so hard for me, I LOVE movies!
Rules
First, you must acknowledge the person who tagged you. 
Second, you tell your 3 favorite movies, 3 random things about your favorite movies, and 1 thing you like to do while watching movies.



Favourite Movies / Reasons:
1-) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World! I am over the moon about this movie! It's set in Toronto, and it was actually filmed there too! I've been to half the places in the movie, like the Pizza Pizza Scott goes in to after the Epic Bass Battle, Casa Loma where he battles Lucas Lee, and I've seen the outside of the place where the Epic Bass Battle took place. I'm too young to go in, but it was filmed at Lee's Palace and my dad has seen plenty of bands play there!
2-) Whip it! This movie just made me want to play Roller Derby so badly! In fact, I still do want to play derby! Plus the whole story line is just so inspiring. If you've read the book, it's better, but the Movie is a fantastic adaptation of it!
3-) A Hard Day's Night. I have watched this about a squadrillion times! It is one of my favourites of all time, partially because of the music. Okay, and also partially because there are lots of close ups of George Harrison looking lovely :)


"Hey, pardon me for askin', but who's that little old man?"
"Euh, what little old man?"
"That little old man!"
"Oh, that one! That's me grandfather."
"Ye grandfather?"
"Yeh."
"That's not your grandfather."
"It is y'know!"
"But I've seen your grandfather he lives in your house!"
"Well, he's me grandfather as well."
"How'd yeh reckon that one out?"
"Well, everyone's entitled to two aren't they, and he's me other one!"




One thing I love doing while watching a movie, is eat! I sound so gluttonous, but it's really the only time all week I get to eat junk food.


So yeah! There are thousands of movies I adore, but these are ones I've watched a million times and still love. They've never gotten old ;) I hope you will take up my suggestions and watch at least one of these! Thanks for reading!


Before I go, I tag... Phoebe from Love That Doll,  Claire from Claire's Curiosity, and... umm... Augusta from Salsa Bug Gout!


Okay! Thanks for reading!
-Charlotte <3

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Contest Results!

Hello everyone! So, it is finally time to reveal the winners of march's Photo contest! Now, if you are the winner, make sure you contact me a.s.a.p. with your contact info, and the html for your button for your blog, or an address you would like your custom button to go to! Hope that's not too complicated ;) We'll also sort out the details of guest posting!

Now, without further ado, here are the results!

In 3rd place we have...
Miss Cp Freaks! The setting of the picture is so cute and I love the little poem you included!

In 2nd place we have...
Olivia from Cupcakes.Robots.Olivia.! I love the colours of the flower, and the focus is so sweet!

And last but certainly not least, in 1st place we have...
Priya from American Girl Playground! (I sincerely hope I spelled that right!)
I love the colours in this picture, and the lighting, and especially the natural look it has! Kit is so pretty in this picture :) Congratulations! 
Please email me at busterboyo@gmail.com with your button html code (please make it 200 pixels wide! I can be however tall you want it, though) We'll then discuss details of guest posting :)

Thank you all so much for entering! I just want to give a shout out to the lovely Rose, of Loving Your American Girl Doll for entering twice! Thank you so much for entering, your pictures were so sweet :)

Alright! I look forward to doing this again in the future! I apologize that the results were up a day late, I was out and about all day, and then babysat until about 1am so there was no way I could have posted this. Sorry again!

-Charlotte <3

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

*CONTEST CLOSED*

Thanks for entering everyone! The results will be up on March 31st. Stay tuned!

-charlotte <3

Monday, March 26, 2012

LAST DAY TO ENTER!

The photo contest ends on Tuesday! I really hope everyone who wanted to enter has had a chance to!
-charlotte <3


Thursday, March 22, 2012

Versatile Blogger Award!


Rules:
1. In a post on your blog, nominate 4 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, include 7 random pieces of information about you.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination with a comment on their blog.

Alrighty! I nominate:

1-) Claire, at Claire's Curiosity.
2-) Anna, at basilmentos.
3-) Emmie, at Emmie's Edition.
4-) Ali, at girloftheyearstudios blog.


Not sure if all of these people will do the post, but I totally think they deserve it. Oh, and thanks a million for nominating me Phoebe!
*EDIT* I've also been nominated by MissCpFreaks! Thank you too! :D


Tadaa! Now, here are my 7 random facts:
1-) I am flipping obsessed with the band Arctic Monkeys (I listened to them, and them only until about December), and I went to see them LIVE over March Break. It was the best day of my life.
2-) I just got a new camera! The Canon Rebel T3. I promise I will post some pics soon!
3-) I have my ears double-pierced.
4-) I have an abnormal obsession with George Harrison, Alex Turner, and about 10 other attractive people. I also think Roger Daltrey is my best friend.
5-) I have massive glasses, that look exactly like the glasses you get when you see a 3D movie, except I use them for real. I have a cataract in my left eye.
6-) I'm going in to grade 9 next year, and I've been fighting to keep PCVS (the high school I want need to go to) open. Our school board is full go jerks, and so far this year I've been to 4 political protests, one of which ended up with me having a massive pimple on my forehead.
7-) I am one of the most sick minded, talkative, social, crazy people, but somehow that doesn't show through in my blogging. I'm trying to work on having my personality show through in my blogging.


8-) I've tried about a billion times to write a novel, and I've never usually gotten past the 3rd or 4th chapter. (I needed to add this. Sorry!)


Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed hearing about what a wonderful person I am :)


-Charlotte <3

Monday, March 19, 2012

Don't forget!

Just a little reminder, don't forget to enter the photo contest!
I've already received several fantastic entries, I just don't want anyone to miss out on it!
I'll be a lot of fun, darlings :)
You have about a week left! The contest closes on March 27th :)

Good luck everyone!
-charlotte <3

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

My little political activist

This is my tee shirt, that I made for a birthday gift I'm sending out to a friend. I'm really excited about how well it turned out! I just felt like showing it to you before I sent it off, but if you wanna see more pics, I'll be uploading a video to my YouTube of a photoshoot, which will have lots of 'em. If you want to know about the whole 'I heart PCVS' business, you can google 'save pcvs' to get the full story. I've explained this so many times, and I feel like I always explain it wrong! The jist of it, is that there's a school closing in our area and the shirt is part of a protest to save it :)

So far, the photo contest is going great! There are 2 wonderful entries so far. Keep it up, guys! This is really exciting for me! :D

-Charlotte <3

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Just Us Dolls Here's 1st Annual Photography Contest!

 Hello all of you blog readers! It's time for Just Us Dolls Here's 1st Annual Spring Photography Contest! There are only a few rules, so I'm going to dish them out first, then we can get to the fun bits :)

Official Rules

1-) You may only enter photographs of 18 inch dolls!  As much as I love porn... NO, I'm just kidding! No bitty babies or Mini Dolls, unless they're only part of the photograph please.
2-) YOU need to have taken the photo! Don't be a jerk and steal someone's photo, just because you're a terrible photographer. Use this as an opportunity to improve upon your skills!
3-) You may enter as many times as you want, so long as you only enter each photo once!
4-) One photograph per post. Please link individually to each post, because as smart as I am, I'm not going to roam around your blog searching for every single one of your 36 entries. Please be specific! Write: This is my 1st entry for Just Us Doll Here's Photography Contest! and INCLUDE YOUR LINK IN THE COMMENTS!
5-) The contest ends on March 27th, and the results will be up on the 31st!
6-) You do NOT need to give out your address if you win! Just your email address, because the prize is... (drum roll please!)

... a chance to guess post on Just Us Dolls Here, plus your blog's button at the top of my blog for all of April! (If you don't have one, I can make one for you!) The guest post may be anything of your choice, photo shoot, photo story, tutorial, etc. but it has to involve 18 inch dolls! I will be proofreading the post before it gets published, so make sure the content is appropriate.
 You don't need a fancy shmancy bajillion dollar camera to take a fantastic photograph, so here are some handy dandy photography tips!
 Try to use a tripod! Sometimes, when the lighting is just right, you don't need one, but in most cases it makes your pictures look marvelous.
 Don't use a flash, unless of course, that's the style of photography you're going for. Lots of photographers use flash for effect, but as far as I know, that's not the style you're going for, and isn't a nice substitute for natural lighting.
 On that note, use some pretty, nice, old fashioned natural daylight produced by our good ole friend the sun! It certainly gives your photos a nice vibrancy and effect to them.
 Make sure you doll(s) look their best. Dress them in pretty, fitting, stylish, appropriate (no bikinis in the snow!) outfits, and make sure their hair is tidy. Having them wearing shoes would be a good idea, unless you're really in to that hippy thang.

As far as photo editing goes, I really like the look of natural photos, but a little bit of winterize or cross process never hurt anyone :)
I can't wait to see your entries!

Charlotte <3
* * *
Let your friends know about the contest! C'mon, don't be selfish :) Post this button in your sidebar, or at the end of your entry!