Event Report: FAM2014

This is the long-delayed event report for FAM2014! so late, that even Asuka beat me to it XD It was a long and hectic weekend, one of the hardest events I've had to do ever, due to the duration - 2 days, 8hrs each, compared to the usual 4-6 hr doll events I've participated in over the past few years. As usual, I will break it down to the little nitty gritty stuff as per my past event reports :) Or at least, from what I can recall....

DAY 1

3++am - couldn't get back to sleep after a watsapp message ding'd at 2.30. I had gone to bed at 1++am, honestly, wasn't too anxious about this event, alot less so than the past ones...but you know how the brain has a mind of its own.... So I decided to make a stand for the chocobananas! Took about 20 mins, and tried to get back to sleep. Alas, it eluded me till about 5am, some people noticed me trolling on my facebook page :P 

Had set the alarm for 7.30 but overslept, luckily my internal alarm woke me at 7.40, threw myself together and got my youngest bro to help me call for a cab as well as bring down my luggage for me!

The cab ride was interesting. The driver asked me what I was heading to Funan for at the early hour, and when I mentioned miniatures, he asked, "Any ponies or bears?" XD I thought that was a rather atypical response and asked why the specificity, he said his niece had requested he bring one back from his recent trip abroad! It was funny and nice, the conversation. Found out he had a 22 year old son, no daughters, hence his complete and utter lack of knowledge when it came to buying for 6 year old girls :) I suggested Metro or Toys 'r' us for my little pony toys, hope it helped! There was a small discussion about how I was an atheist/humanist, and then the driver went on to talk about his sister, and how he agrees that malicious gossip is one thing he cannot tolerate either. By the end of the ride, he paused to tell me that he was glad I admitted to be an atheist, and that he was a Buddhist, but we have very similar outlooks on life, and people. He helped get my luggage out of the cab, and just as I waved goodbye, he told me that he thinks I'm a very generous and kind person, and wished me the best for the day :) I was a little surprised at his comments (like, how would he know?!? I didn't tip him either... heheh) Set the right tone for the weekend :) :) 

Asuka had a pretty rough throat, thanks to the flu that I had -possibly- given her a week before (? oops!), so we settled for a quick 7-11 sammich breakkie, and drinks at Ya Kun. The whole shopping centre was stifling warm, airconditioning hadn't been turned on yet. So we discussed our anxieties, and goals (HAVE FUN!) for the weekend :D

We faffed about, fanning each other and using up alot of tissues mopping up our perspiration while setting up. The only hiccup that occurred was that the table was not as described, we were promised a 1m x 1m table, but it turned out to be a smaller booth table of different dimensions (don't know what it was, didn't get to measure), which threw us off as we had prepared our layouts at home o.O I soon found that every other booth holder was struggling with modifying their table layouts too -_-"" Some had to even lay their items on the ground or suitcases (as we did). But we decided to just go with it the best we could! 

11am, 'official' event start-o! Iwa was my 2nd customer, thank you thank you!! She was also the 2nd to grab what was left of the Ramen/Udon bowls ;P They sold out by 1pm, thank you thank you all for supporting my craft! It had also started drizzling/raining, but we needn't have worried about that because...........

WHIRR OF ACTIVITY

There was constant human traffic, SOOO many of you came down and told us that you'd come specially for our booth, just recalling that now makes me well up a little, ah I'm just a sappy old lady...kekeke. I really appreciate all of you who came down, for chats, catch-ups, hang out (doll-friends! CH!!!), encouraging words...and the few of you who came down to tell me that I had been inspiring, enough that you have set up little businesses of your own....you're very welcome!! I started the same way, and I hope all of you strive to keep this craft alive, nay, GROW! And inspire future mini-makers yourselves!!! I also saw many customers from past doll events, thank you for being so supportive of Snowfern Clover these past few years :) Without you all, I would never have been able to continue crafting these mini treats :))))

Things started winding down at about 6+, and by 7 Asuka and I started packing up. L dropped by to help me with the luggage, we had a quick dinner at a nearby foodcourt, L got me an almond milk drink to soothe my throat, Asuka stubbornly refused to try it (she hates almonds HAHA I'M TELLING THE WORLD ALL YOUR SECRETS), but I swear that stuff works! I was back to near-normal-or-what-passes-for-it-in-my-world by ......

DAY 2

Play spot the difference? XD

The day started pretty normally, this time I woke up on time at 8am, we planned to meet a little later than before since we knew what to expect. Also, since it was Father's day, we didn't expect much of a crowd either. Rayner also helped me with the luggage again :)

The cab ride was not as interesting as the day before, but the uncle was nice too :) He too, asked what I was doing so early in the morning at Funan, and didn't quite grasp what it was that I was doing, but he wished me all the best and was super nice, helped me with the luggage out of the cab too :) Thank you all you cabby uncles and aunties!!!

The day was more relaxing, and was more of a catch-up session with old friends who dropped by....I was looking forward to the short catch-up with my Jie, we had gotten to know each other during her Uni/my poly days playing MUD (Multi-User Dungeons/Dimensions, ha! That's nostalgia for ya!) and was so happy to see her and her hubby and kids...It was soooo nice to see you, must have been well over 10 years since we last had pasta together at Scotts....hee hee yes I still remember! Other people dropped by to chit-chat, but I must have been more dazed as I tried to recover from Saturday heheehe

After lunch, I ran around and bought quite a few items from one of my fave artists, Preau Siripun. I had been following his work on facebook for a while (check out his version of Cerberus, SUPER CUTE CAN), and was super surprised to see that he had a booth too! Bought a shirt for L, as well as a sketchbook and postcards! I also got a set of postcards from Asuka KEKEKE, she has a new series of original artwork printed, please check it out!! ALSO got a plush toy for Rayner, from the Daiyaku booth. Singaporeans will better understand the 'inside joke' hehehe :X

Packed up at 6+ , L dropped by again to help with the luggage (TANKEW!!~) and went to have a nice celebratory Japanese dinner at The Central with 3 other doll-friends. We were well and truly out of energy after that, and went back immediately after. Even the cab back was interesting, poor KW was accosted by the cab uncle who treated him as a handphone helpdesk XD XD so funny lor. XD

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We had done well over what we had set our goal for (to cover rent/cabfare), in fact, very honestly, my other personal goal was to earn enough for Eva's sterilization operation, and indeed she will be going for the procedure on 7th July :) So Eva thanks you all too!!!

I apologize if I seemed dazed, or distracted, or rambled...I'm just not used to going out nor even talking to people, and you can imagine, the large crowds, noise, people....OVERWHELMED!!! I was really not prepared for the number of people who said soooo many nice things to me...that itself was a shock, I had no idea so many of you knew I existed hahaha =embarrassed= all this while I thought I was talking to myself in this blog....:S (I admit, when I surf blogs, if at all, I usually only look at peektures~~) As for workshops and tutorials....yes, yes, I have plans for those, but that will have to be held back for a while as I sort out my health/wedding/HDB plans :X Meanwhile, keep trying and learning! Practice is key! :D

Thank you for reading all my rambling~ I will be working on some new things, and taking care of a naughty little pooch, so please stay tuned for more updates!

Learning how to use my camera

 Ginger went out for a dollmeet yesterday ^_^ It was organized by Alvin, with a goal of learning photography....quite a number of doll owners turned up! *waves to everyone!*

there were many many -many- more shots like these that I had to delete as they were too blurry or overexposed, general n00bness. Figuring out all the f-stop, aperture, etc stuff. Too technical even for me, but at least I know where all the bells and whistles are on the cam, which was the main thing to learn! Turns out they agreed that reading the manual was pretty useless after all...XD

 The only nice photo of Ginger in my camera, out of the 44 taken yesterday, was this one, and it wasn't taken by me XD XD XD I have so much to learn!!!!!!!! (I think this one was taken by Leon, who, with Casper, were very patient and clear in showing me how to use my camera! THANK YOU THANK YOU!! *bow bow*) I will practise hard!

There was also an incredibly awesome lineup of dolls, which made me chuckle greatly, but since I was still struggling with the camera, none of the photos came out decent, save for these 3 -less- blurry ones (YEAH IKR) T_T Sorry Iwa, I tried T-T WILL PRACTISE(practice? AGGGHHH out of practice with english too!)!!!

I actually took many pics of Calleigh, but I think my 'cushion' was moving or I was talking while taking pics....all the angles came out wonky and blurry.....this is one of the better angles but I didn't adjust the focal point *HAIZ* 

 But!!! I think these photos are better (it might have been the angle of the light too)! No edit (except resizing). This is Akira, Asuka's hamsem butler boi :P Her new range of donuts are KYAA~~~!!!! CHO CUTE!

welly hamsem cyclops :E

Side note: I went with 2 friends, Asuka and Crystarlia, and since we had loosely strung resin dolls, they couldn't stand very well and we feared for their safety :X We huddled in a little area 3 steps away from this setup. So it wasn't that we were anti-social, just that we didn't own DDs and didn't dare risk faceplants on our resins!  

tee hee they're goofing around (Thanks Asuka for this photo!)

yeah. i still have lots to learn. and practice. practice. practice.

p.s. camera is a Canon 600D (a gift from my brother!)

Ginger has a 'proper' outfit!

This pair of sailor shorts kept me up till 5am drafting the pants pattern and putting it together (including a trial version with scrap material).....the sailor shorts was inspired by a Ralph Pink pattern, used inkscape to modify it to fit my Unoa. Alas, the free pattern did not come with instructions but it was fun, like piecing together a puzzle :E 

The top was an envelope tee-shirt pattern that I drafted myself. Although it is a tad loose, the Unoa large bust is kind of....uh, pointy, and I wanted to keep it a loose fit so I wouldn't have to sew another set of undergarments HAHA. I will, eventually...when I'm in the mood to fail again. 


(side note: yes, one has to have the will or mood to fail when attempting something new. I'm pessimistic that way :~( ) 

I usually keep this winking Lusis face on the body when sewing, as it does not have eyelashes for me to squish, but I've found that this means I tend to sew cuter items (the top, for example) instead of the burlesque items that I mean to sew for Saffron (re: pants, they were meant for a Betty Grable-esque outfit but somehow....lost focus....and wound up making shoes instead of a fitted top -_-")

Speaking of failing, those sneakers? They're also made by me, and after 3 failed attempts, a semi-passable pair~ I put together all sorts of random materials I had collected/lying around, yay upcycling~! Clover needs a pair too...but I'm supposed to list items on Etsy and I keep putting off photography cos....I really dislike it :(

(TOMORROW TOMORROW)

NO CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH

Usagi Clover!

Modified a Daiso coin purse into a rabbit hat, and made a t-shirt pyjama for Clover. Scrump was a UFO catcher item that bf and a friend spent $12 on trying to catch it (was I think $2 per try XD XD XD). Mini bunny was knit from a free pattern ages ago, you can knit one for yourself here: 

http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/2008/05/teenie-tinies.html :)

I'm winding down from a hectic week, but finally made something for Clover that finally suits her. My friends have been chiding me for dressing her up in "auntie" clothes, in my defense, I had been recycling materials as she was more of an impulse purchase and I wasn't sure about my sewing skills as it had been at least a decade since I sewed anything when she arrived!!! Will try to sew a few more t-shirts for her (and my Unoa)!

I will be listing some items on Etsy this coming week, do look out for them, as well as for the pre-order for the Ramen/Don bowls in early July :) I will be opening up limited commission slots as well, so please check in, or follow my Facebook/Instagram pages for updates!

Funan Anime Matsuri 2014 - June 14th & 15th, See you there!

I have been busy neglecting this blog (:P) as I have been working on items for sale at an upcoming event in Singapore, details below :)

http://www.funananimematsuri.com/

Funan Digital Life Mall June 14th -15th 11am-8pm

For those who are (or will be) in Singapore, please do drop by and say Hi to Asuka and I, for we are back together for another event, Funan Anime Matsuri! We will be sharing a table at the Creators Hub ^_^

I am still busy putting together items for sale for the weekend event, photos of what will be available can be viewed here:

Post by Snowfern Clover.

Saffron

Meet Saffron :) This will be the obligatory box opening post XD I've actually reserved "saffron-tea.blogspot.com" but unless I give her some really crazy back story (which i do not have the imagination for) I doubt that blog will be updated XD

She is a Unoa Sist, Fresh Skin. Alchemic Labo, the company that produces her, used to only cater to the Japanese market, meaning they were pretty difficult to come by. I was reluctant to purchase a 2nd hand version, and so kept waiting for the chance that pre-orders for International orders would eventually be available.....

I waited for close to 6 years! I first came across photos of Unoa Lusis back in mid 2008 when I was trying to make my own BJD and instantly fell in love with these dolls. My hopes started waning as year after year, no pre-orders were made available, and I missed the lottery in -I think- 2012.....but this year in January, a 2 week window was open for pre-orders!! The fiance (then-bf) had promised me one as soon as it became available, and since I did not ask for a birthday gift last year, it became my belated birthday gift!!! (yeah, I'm fussy when it comes to gifts as I don't have much space and am very particular with what enters my room :X) I quickly placed an order, and added 3 face plates so I could have some practice, as well as versatility :)

And so.....on March 31st, Saffron arrived! This will be a lengthy and picture heavy post, so I'll divide it into 4 parts - Box Opening, Faceup, Sewing her first outfit, and Review.

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Box Opening

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Here's Eva welcoming Saffron :P 

TA-DAH!~~~~ That's Ahma's arm, she was even more excited for this box opening as she's now familiar with what I do XD She kept remarking, "This one is much bigger than the other one!" XD XD XD

DUN-DUN-DUNNNNN!!!!!! The biggest surprise was seeing that she came assembled :O

There was an accompanying note explaining why she was strung!

 Another surprise was the paper pattern to use when designing outfits for her O.O LOVE IT. Can't wait to make fitted clothing :D

Although the instructions were in Japanese, there were enough illustrations to help with the re-assembly.  

And best of all, even though it was stated that the eyes would be randomly assigned, I did add a note during checkout that I would prefer Blue/Gray eyes if at all possible....am not sure if it was a coincidence or really wonderful customer service, but I got the eyes I wanted!!! ^_^V

They are acrylic (I think) and have holes drilled for the eye mechanism. Will use them for Lusis!

Ahma kept asking how big she was compared to Clover, and so I quickly threw on a dress I knitted which was too large for Clover to protect Saffron's modesty. Ahma couldn't help but fiddle with her heheheheheh. It was quite sweet watching her marvel at dolls...quite a contrast to when Clover first arrived (she had a hard time understanding why adults would still play with dolls hurhur)

 Sisters! They're both 1:4 scale, or classified under Asian Mini/MSD sized dolls in DoA (I think).

 I coincidentally had 3 spare pairs of 12mm eyes which I had purchased for Clover, which were quickly put to use! The right most one is the Sist Decadent faceplate, I'm wondering if I can mod her into some cyborg type character....*taps chin*. Anyhow the 2 on the left are the Lusis Default and Wink faceplates. TOTES ADORBS. The doll also came with a faux fur (mohair?) white wig, which TBH I'm not too fond of, but maybe after some dyeing I can work it into something more appealing.

Oh and she's in her large bust option (purchased separately) in this photo :) Clover is enough of a tomboy for them both!

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Faceup

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As I was going to wash and re-string Saffron, I thought that Clover needed a bath too. I had made the mistake of spraying her body with MSC even though I had little-to-no-intention of body blushing her....so all I did was wet sand the more visible and sharp flash lines.

WIP photo for quality control :P

So.....since I had done Clover's faceup before, I decided to be braver with Saffron's makeup and go with bolder colours. Although I initially had no idea who the Unoa Sist would become, after a lengthy discussion with CH...I thought that Sist would either be Slutty or Demure. And then I viewed a video of a singer dressed like a Pin-up girl and her deep red lipstick captured my attention. Saffron would be a songstress with a happy, almost burlesque style :) But more sweet than slutty *cough* 

I won't go into detail about my process as I've already documented it here, when I did Clover's face up.

http://clover-tea.blogspot.sg/2013/02/faceup-for-clover.html

This was my 2nd attempt at Saffron's face, the first one was so disastrous I had to clean it off, and re-start the whole process the following day. 4 hours down the drain (stayed up till 3am the first try) T-T But I'm glad I didn't settle for an inferior face-up...because I am totally loving her current look!

Instagram filters make everything look better :E

(I think she looks like Disney's Ariel in this photo!)

She looks so different from different angles!

So where did inspiration for her faceup come from?

Note any similarities?

http://ego-alterego.com/2012/04/illustration-by-bec-winnel/

I had come across this photo in my facebook photostream on a random day...and immediately knew this was how I was going to style her. I opted to go for a friendlier eyebrow shape and keep the red-head tone as she's Clover's sister after all. And at around the same time I had read that blue eyes + red hair is the rarest combination for redheads, so it all worked out great! The wig is an old one I made and as Clover's head is a little larger, I temporarily stuck doublesided tape to hold it down (NOT RECOMMENDED but eh I'm not selling her and I know how to handle tape residue :X) I'll be making a new wig specifically for her but I'm really partial to this combination now. 

Eyes were the default that came with Clover, and I don't feel brave enough to drill holes in it, so they're held in place with blu-tack.

More closeups of her faceup detail. Yeah, it's not perfect, but I'm improving I think. I used heavily-modified eyelashes from Daiso this time since her more dramatic look required more dramatic lashes :P 

I've already had a number of comments about her lips, so I thought to add my process here for those interested:

- base layer of medium pink pastels

- MSC

- Folk art Napthol Crimson, thinned and then drybrushed

- Shiny/glittery eyeshadow dabbed onto previous layer before fully dried. It was from a knockoff MAC eyeshadow palette (not recommended since it's not waterbased, but I figure she's already got MSC coats to protect and it's quite powdery like mica powder so I chanced it) on lower lip, centre area to act like lip-gloss

- Napthol Crimson, used thin liner brush to emphasize outline of lips and increase emphasis of lip-gloss area

- Napthol Crimson + dab of black, highlight mouth slit (?!) with liner brush

- Folkart Gloss Varnish

I want to emphasize that this is not recommended if you're intending to do professional grade face-ups, but since I have no intention of selling my grail doll, I'm quite happy to experiment and in any case, these face plates are far more affordable and replaceable so I'm not too bothered.

I was also careful to keep the line gentle, so that there's more of a subtle transition than a harsh red outline which happened on my first attempt. 

As to the brushes, I used the same ones in the faceup for Clover.

For the eyebrows, they were done differently than Clover's, I painted in the individual hairs...and although it was tempting to sand off the eyebrows in the sculpt, it actually served as a good guide and provides more dimension, so I left it in.

This time round, the only reference I used was the Bec Winnel artwork, so the whole process was much faster, though it did take about 3 hrs the 2nd time round.

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Sewing the Infinity Dress

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I had subscribed to a thread on DoA in which Silver Identity had kindly created a tutorial with measurements catered to a MiniFee. Thank You! (haha I don't think he/she reads my blog but yeah, I appreciate it!) I know that some of you have mentioned that it's difficult to get on DoA, and personally I've been having issues with accessing except on my mobile, so I can't fetch the link either...but there are soooo many infinity dress tutorials out there so just do a quick search on DoA or Google and you should be golden.

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7902149

Just for those who are wondering and might want to use my measurements for your own Unoa, here are the dimensions:

Straps - 5cm (W) x 63cm (L)

Waist - 15cm x 6cm

Skirt Length - 14cm

I won't post the instructions here out of respect for the thread starter's hard work, but you can figure it out pretty easily from the online tutorials and adapt accordingly. I whipped this out in less than 1 hr.

The jersey knit material was a half-yard that I purchased at Chinatown early last year...I loved how thin it was and it draped beautifully, so I knew I could make a beautiful dress out of it....a no-brainer why I used it for this dress! I am quite busy, what with having to think about wedding preparations, flat stuff, commissions and a TOP SEKRET PROJEK (haha I'll reveal that in due time of course!) but I get teased quite a bit by Asuka and the fiance for dressing Clover in "auntie" or "office lady" style clothes so it was IMPERATIVE that Saffron have something more suited to her! 

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Review, and final thoughts

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Overall, I'm a super-biased reviewer since she's been my grail doll....that and I had many pleasant surprises like the detail in her hands (nails!), and how quickly she arrived after receiving notice of her tracking information.  But there are a few things of note:

Positives

- The fresh skin resin is very heavy and lovely....my doll did not have any apparent cracks, faults nor stains

- eye colour that I wanted

- came assembled

- super easy to pose and stands very well

- SHE'S FINALLY MINE

- ALL MINE

- MUAHAHAHA

Mehs

- The default Sist face plate does not sit well in the head mechanism, and I had to sand down some parts so it would 'catch' properly, and also reduce the risk of cracking the faceplate

- Some of the mould seams/flash lines were pretty sharp, and my guess is they probably gave it a cursory run down the seams with a penknife, but I knew I would wet sand it anyway so didn't bother me too much

- Elastic strings seem a little loose...but I plan to suede the joints so she'll hold poses a little better

Okay! PHEW. I hope you enjoyed this post, please comment to let me know it was worth all my hard work!

(or you know, so I feel less stupid for 'talking' to myself...............)

p.s. I named her after my favourite character in "Absolutely Fabulous". That, and as Asuka pointed out, Clover-tea and Saffron-tea works perfectly together!

1:3 miniature scale Cakes and Tartlets

Hiya BJD lovers! I've been busy over at http://snowfern-clover.blogspot.com with a personal project, but have opened up commission slots again, here's the first few completed works :)

My sweet and funny customer sent me some photos, and here are the results. She's ordered one of each, so I'll put up the extras in my Etsy store after she gets first pick :) There are a few more items to her order which are drying, and then it'll be back to 1:12 again for a different order :))

Some closeups!

They're mostly made out of air dry clay and other mixed media. The rest of the order isn't as colourful, but I'm excited to work on more savoury food items ^_^

Thanks for looking!