When Sourcing Products…

I use quality products when repainting my dolls. I want them to last and for collectors to look at them years from now and still see the (hopefully) beautiful work of art I created and appreciate just as much as they day they brought it home. To do that I did a lot of research before I started to figure out what I wanted to use and how best to get it. A lot of what I get, I have to get online. Other than your standard Michael’s and Joann’s, we only have one small arts supply shop in town that carries products I can use. I can tell you now, if you are ever interested in repainting dolls, or vinyl/plastic in general, unless you are a pro at using watercolor paints – you’re not going to find what you need at Michael’s or Joann’s. Michaels is better for me in taht I can get Liquitex varnishes and Prismacolor watercolor pencil sets. But that’s about it unless you’d like to tackle the task of gaining proficiency with watercolor paints on dolls.

But the hardest thing to source is the most important thing in repainting – your sealant. Monster High dolls, as with many other brands of dolls, have hard plastic bodies and vinyl heads. They can be difficult to stain, dye and repaint due to their mixed medium and the natural of their composition. After removing the factory paint, you want to start with a solid canvas to work with and your choice of sealant will not only ensure a good solid canvas but also protect the original doll which is highly important.

The sealants, however, are few and far between for which are recommended. You have the Zoukeimura (ZM) finishing spray, Game Workshops Purity Seal (which is more a semi-gloss and not a true matte sealant), Testors Dulcoat (NOT recommended), and the creme de la creme, Mr. Hobby Super Clear Flat Sealant.

I prefer Super Clear myself. But have been using the UV cut variety which was admittedly more expensive. I’ve had a good run with it, but recently have been finding fewer and fewer vendors on line who carry it, and when they do their prices have gotten ridiculously high. Which means I need to switch to the standard version, which I’m okay with. But even that is becoming difficult to get. Generally, I source off of eBay. Which makes me wonder, if I am having more issue locating it, how in the worlds am I going to keep painting?

 

 

Ebay or Etsy?

That’s a question I see being asked all the time on various Facebook groups that I network in. The conversation always seems to focus on which platform is better for sales – regardless the product or medium being offered. I sell on both and for differing reasons. I see repainted dolls being offered on both sites obviously – it would be silly of me not to take into consideration the potential for competition as well as the median for the market.

Etsy Ive settled on, at least for the time being, for my dolls themselves. Etsy seems to cater better towards that market of OOAK items and handmade things though their recent changes to policy to include mass production of designs has me a little concerned. Their platform though, and their ability to track views, favorites and be able to contact those that have been impressed with your work is unparalleled.

Ebay I utilize for all my little odds and ends – those costume pieces and accessories that I dont need for the dolls themselves but are still valuable to someone trying to fill out a doll that they purchased second hand.

I may eventually move my dolls over to it, and indeed I have one listed of there as a sort of tester right now, but I find that the ‘garage sale’ aspect of Ebay fits better for the stuff while the ‘art show’ feeling of Etsy is more suited for my art. Everyone is going to have their own opinions and I would be curious to hear yours!

 

 

Just a Little Hiatus…

And tomorrow I’m back to the grind of promoting my shop as much as humanely possible, selling my loose ends on eBay and working on new dolls! My family had some schedule shake-ups with a promotion for me, a course for my signifigant other and my youngests birthday but that all ends tomorrow and we will return you to your regularly scheduled programming!

Always remember that whether things are going well or not as anticipated, it’s best to take a little time for yourself and help you remember whats important. 🙂

Loose Odds and Ends

So working on my dolls and selling them nude means I have a lot of odds and ends laying about that I don’t really need. (I’ll write up another post next about why my dolls aren’t sold with clothes…yet. 😉 ) For the most part, I will put those doll parts, accessories, clothes etc onto my eBay shop. Why? Because even though I don’t need them, I know that there are plenty of collectors and/or parents out there looking for that piece to finish up the Sweet 1600 series doll they have or else replace a piece of their child’s favorite doll that the dog accidentally swallowed. It makes absolutely no sense to me to hold onto  a plethora of pieces I may not need when others may have more valid and immediate use for them and thankfully eBay provides a conduit for that.

I also try to hunt good deals on dolls when they go on sale and try to purchase two – particularly of the boys that are harder to find since I don’t repaint them and offer on my eBay. I don’t mark them up too horribly over retail for their buy it now pricing and start their bidding at below retail usually so that shipping isn’t too horrendous. Always be on the look out for good deals!

So if you ever want to see what dolls, loose pieces, odds and ends I have available, take a gander over at Chrysalis Creation on eBay!

Posting Whirlwind

So yesterday I decided to get all my ducks in a proverbial row and attempt to get the 8 dolls I now have listed in my Etsy shop cross posted to Pinterest, Tumblr and DeviantArt as well as my Facebook page. Dear gods! Three hours later I had it all done and that was with a lightning quick internet connection! Best yet, I still have odds and ends to post on my Ebay account.

See, I generally sell my dolls nude primarily because I am a so-so seamstress and partly because in my head, my potential clients have an idea about how they want their doll to look and are purchasing my dolls to fulfill that image. Granted, there are some people that just want to buy the whole package and eventually I’ll get to that (time allowance willing!) but for now I think that having the dolls nude makes it easier for a client to really customize how they envision their doll looking. That of course leaves me with the factory provided items sitting around so those I try to resell on eBay for collectors looking to flush out their factory purchased dolls. Win-win if you ask me!

I got my Clawdeen, Cleo and Venus all uploaded to Etsy the other day, and they join the Frankie, Operetta, Abbey and two Lagoona’s I already had posted. Now, all the ladies are in all the areas I can possibly think of and I’m still scouting out more social media platforms in which to post them. If you have suggestions, feel free to bring me in on the loop!

In the meantime, I think I’m going to rest. Who am I kidding? I have a Draculaura whose hair I need to finish and then photoshoot and upload her, and a Ghoulia who is waiting on beautiful new Dollyhair. There is no rest for the wicked after all!

Abbey Bomidable Repaint from Chrysalis Creation. Click the pic to follow the link.