The Invisible Doll Stand Review, or Watch Them Fly?!

Just a small note: The lighting went a little strange in the photos, especially when trying out the doll stand.  Just one of the hazards of amateur bjd photography.

A few weeks ago, we receive an order from Alice’s Collections of many fine bjd clothes and accessories.

Among those accessories was the invisible doll stand.  It was only briefly mentioned, so it is time to properly review it.

It came unassembled with no written instructions, though thankfully Anna managed to assemble it.

It consists of claw shaped gripping device attached to an extremely flexible neck, which screws into a translucent base.

There were these extra parts, for the life of me I can’t figure out their purpose, neither can Anna.

Anyway, I have tried out the stand and I find the grip to be most comfortable when properly fitted.   Anna was worried that it might scratch me, however there is some sort of coating on the grip as a preventive.

Anna did have trouble adjusting the “neck”.  It takes a bit of patience and strength to adjust it.

The end result is most satisfactory, I felt perfectly stable when Anna took this photo.  And the base of the stand is hardly noticeable and could have easily been edited out, if Anna wasn’t so lazy about such matters.

When in use, the rest of the stand can be discreetly hidden behind me.

Anna says this stand can also be used to make dolls appear as if they are flying (MSDs and Yosds only).  To test this we will need a volunteer.

“Oh, me! Me! I’ll do it.  Can I please?!”

Oh, alright Sakura dear.

“Whee! Look I’m flying!”

And quickly a line forms behind her.  What is this, a carnival ride?

Oh well, it’s time to get now Sakura, let someone else have a turn.

“Aw, man.”

Now it’s Yuna’s turn.  She seems to be enjoying herself.

“…Oooh, so dizzy…”

Now for Usagi, I think she is enjoying it too much.

“Whee! :)”

“Shiro wants to try too!”

I’m afraid Shiro is too small for the doll stand.

“Yuki knows what to do, right?”

Problem solved.

Overall, I we have been very pleased with this doll stand despite a few quirks, and would greatly recommend it to others.

Now before I let you go, there is such alarming news to deliver.

Sometime after placing this particular order, Anna made a second one, for a new doll!  She has discussed it with me somewhat.  It will be another yosd sized or 1/6 scale ball jointed doll, from Kids Sky, the same company as Momoko. 

What she failed to mention is that she has already received a shipping notice.  And it is scheduled to arrived at any moment now!  Why does she always wait until the last minute for these things.  There are preparations to make for goodness sake!

Anyway, we will soon be able to introduce the newest doll in our family.

Until then, be at peace my dear readers.

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Of Bjd Fashion: Turning Straw Hats into Doll Half Bonnets

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info. Thanks!

While shopping for various craft supplies, Anna came across these plain straw hats.

They would make marvelous bonnets once properly embellished, except for one problem.  They are too small.

When I tried one on, it looked ridiculously tiny and they were too small for Yuna and Sakura as well.

What does one do with too small doll headwear?  Anna had a idea.

Make bonnets, or more specifically half bonnets.

I came across a tutorial for them years ago on a Lolita fashion blog.  They took a child size straw hat and made it into a pretty half bonnet.  I thought, “why not make one for a ball jointed doll?”

It was easier than I expected and really fun.  Enough to want to make a quick tutorial for these pretty little doll hats.

Straw Half Bonnets for Dolls Tutorial

Material needed:

• Straw hat
• Glue gun
• Ribbon
• Bias tape
• Lace, flowers, bows, etc..
• Your doll

I bought my hats from Bookman’s, but most craft stores sell tiny straw hats that will work.  These hats from Hobby Lobby and these from Michael’s should work nicely.

My hats I used already had a bonnet-y shape which made it easy to use, but a regular plain straw hat is fine.  That’s what they used in the original non-doll tutorial.

First you need to cut the hat straight down (or is it up?) at the the back and cut off the top part of the hat. 

Trim a bit around the cut edges, adjusting it to fit nicely on your doll.  It should fit much like a large headband or sun visor.

When finished cutting, it’s time to cover the edges.  I used thin double fold bias tape, but ribbon can work too especially if you fold and iron it first, carefully though.

Anyway, carefully glue and cover the edges with the tape.  I glued first on the inside side of the hat and then on the outer side.

Now the basic half bonnet is done.

It is ready for decorating.  Ribbons, bows, flowerer, oh my!

Here are the three I made.

I glued on ribbons to tie on the bonnet, and small flowers and bows to cover the ends of the ribbon and make the bonnets pretty.

On the inside, I glued on wide ruffled lace along the edge.  This frames the doll’s face nicely.

I hope these instructions were easy to understand and helpful.  Enjoy!

End of tutorial.

As Anna stated, the lace does frame the face nicely.  Doesn’t the bonnet look lovely on Yuna?

Of course it would have looked wonderful on me too, except Anna carelessly made this particular bonnet too small for me.

And I made two other bonnets that fit you just fine, so what’s the problem?

“..Miss Hikaru, that hat looks pretty on you too…”

Why thank you Yuna dear, and it’s called a bonnet.

Half bonnet, Hikaru.

Anyway, we shall greatly enjoy our fine new headwear.  And I do wish that everyone found Anna’s little guide most helpful.

Be at peace my dear readers.

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Alice’s Collections Shopping Haul: Doll Clothes, Eyes and a Stand?

This post was suppose to go up several months ago, but I never could get around to it until now.  So pretend it is still March when you read it.

Anna placed a smallish order on the fine online bjd store, Alice’s Collections.  There were just a few items we needed for a few particular purposes.

Within two weeks, the package arrived at our door.  Anna thought this was rather quick, however I would have preferred a speedier delivery.

Anyway, let us see what is inside the box.

First, there is a cleaning sponge included as a gift from the store.  These have been wonderful to have on hand.  Sakura is prone to making a mess of herself and Usagi isn’t much better.

(You’re pretty messy too, Hikaru.)

Now this is wonderous piece, it’s a simple white button-down shirt (also available in black) for Yuki.

A simple, yet classic piece with crisp collar and nicely make cuffs.  It is fairly well made for the rather low price.

It was purchased specifically for Yuki as a present for his birthday next month.  It looks wonderful and hopefully it will look just as fine on him.

And it does, much nicer than his t-shirts in my opinion.  The msd size seems to fit him well enough (Check out the dolls’ profile page for Yuki’s measurements, the shirt is available in several other “sizes”).

Next is something more casual, this pair of pink sneakers.

They were purchased for Usagi for her birthday as well.  I can’t say I particularly like them, but I’m positive Usagi will adore them. 

They are fairly well made though.   With decent topstitching, evenly spaced grommets, and sturdy looking lacings they should hold up well.

And as expected, Usagi is quite happy with them, mostly due to their coloring.

“They are so cute! :)”

They fit quite well, much better than the last pair of shoes purchase for her (see Bjd Unboxing: Doll Family H Body and Shoes?).

Both Usagi and Yuki seem quite content with their gifts.

Now for something wonderful, my new petticoat!

Yes, I have simple be dying to have one of my own for so long.  And because my own birthday is coming soon, Anna added it to her order.

(It’s available in black or white and in SD and Msd size.)

It looks so much fuller in person than on the website, but will it be effective?  Let us see.

Here is my fine skirt without any petticoat.

And now, here it is with my new petticoat.  The difference is almost alarming.

My skirt looks so beautiful and I simply cannot wait to try this with some of my favorite dresses. 

There is, however, a downside to all this new volume.

It certainly takes up a bit of space.

“Oh my, your skirt is so huge, but it’s cute too! :)”

“…what happened?…”

And now an important purchase, a pair of glass doll eyes.

Alice’s Collections was having a special event.  If you purchased certain items you could then purchase a pair of eyes of your choice for only $1, a real bargain of a price.

Not wanting to pass up this deal, Anna purchased a 12mm pair in pink for our small cat doll who was still in need of eyes.

Here is our tiny cat without eyes…

…And here she is now.  She can finally see!

And she keeps staring at me.  Why is see staring at me?

“She thinks your skirt is huge too. :)”

Now the final purchase, a doll stand.

Anna has been eyeing this doll stand for awhile.  She has mentioned many times about the little problem we dolls have with standing still for the camera (See this doll bloopers post).

She is hoping this stand will be of some help.  We shall have to test this idea.  However, that will be for another post.

For now, we will all continue to enjoy our new pieces.

Be at peace my dear readers.

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