The Struggle is Real

    After my live sale I said I was going to try to take a break from dolls. The week before the sale I did actually take some time off from doll making, I was busy with the house and last minute sale prep, and the week after I mostly did nothing as well. I cut out some clothes on Friday, but that was it. 

     Monday I decided I for sure needed to get back into things. If I go too long without working on dolls I don't want to start up again. That is probably why I am a bit weird about taking time off. Monday was supposed to rain so I decided to go outside early to work on prepping dolls. I had the batch of doll heads from Roberto that needed dremeling, and the bodies I needed for the planned dolls all needed dremeling as well. So I went out before the rain and made a huge mess. It took awhile, but I got a lot of work done. 

     The mail brought me a lovely package of miniatures that I ordered somewhat recently. I have so many really cool things for the miniatures sale! I really need to start working on a catalog. I am planning on sharing that a couple of days before the sale so people can browse and figure out what they want to try to get. Some items I have lots of. Some I only have a couple of. I need to get going on the details of the sale. 

     Even with the distraction of a whole lot of cool new miniatures I did get some sewing done. It felt like it took forever. It wasn't bothering me to keep going, it just felt like it was endless. I did eventually finish and I had 4 outfits prepped and ready to put on dolls. 

     This naked headless doll sort of demonstrates how I was feeling about working on Monday. I don't know if she is falling or frustrated, but I feel like she is definitely having a hard time of things. I was getting things done, but all of it felt very slow to me. And I really had to force myself to keep going every step of the way. I hate days like that. Some people would say that I shouldn't fight it and I should just take the time off. But I know me. If I give in every time I didn't feel like working I would never get anything done. If I take too much time off that will be the end. 

     I had a little paint and sip party for myself and I got a bunch of dolls painted. None of the heads match the darker bodies I got so everything gets custom painted as I work on them. The diversity of the dolls in the hobby is growing. 

      Even with struggling the whole time, and having to work late to accomplish it, I managed to finish a doll. After my live sale I got an order for another of the showmanship/driving dolls with interchangeable heads. I am not going to make many of these I don't think, but I do like them. Dolls are better with their hats glued on and different heads is sometimes the way I think. I really like how the pattern on this showmanship doll worked out. 

     The hat for the driving doll has silver ribbon threaded through the brim (which may not be showing well in the photos). It is more fun in person than in the photos. 

     So I am back into working on dolls, even though I probably have to stop again soon. I have to get into prepping for the miniatures sale. I have some stuff already made for it and a lot of the items I ordered, but I still have a lot that I need to do to prepare. I need to package up things I bought wholesale, I need to make a catalog, I need to make more miniatures. I have a lot to do and only about 4 weeks left! The miniatures sale is coming up quickly. August 15th at 2:00 pm EDT on my studio Facebook page.