More Questions for Us Answered!

So we are trying to make this a monthly thing, at least seasonal.

You ask us questions -- anything on your mind -- and we attempt to answer them. :-)

WARNING: Long post.

Questions and Answers

1. What is your favorite custom doll?

Favorite custom doll that we have?

Difficult to say. We really like Sabrina. 

She is a MyAG #40 that we sent off to get blue eyes and then we took her wig off.

Now she wears different wigs. We have a small wig collection for her.

We also have Susan, a #23 with amber eyes.
She is also very pretty.

We would like to do a radical custom, something really splashy.
But we haven't really done that yet, haha.

2. Do you make custom dolls or somebody else does, if so who?

We don't do the eyeswaps. But we did take Sabrina's wig off ourselves.

And we cut Kanani's hair ourselves.

The best place to send your doll off for an eyeswap is TLC Doll Hospital in Colorado.

http://www.doll-hospital.com/

They are affordable and fast. Plus they use a machine as far as we know, so you don't have to worry about someone's thumbs getting broken. (Eyeswapping is not easy.)

You send them two doll heads and they switch the eyes for you.

They don't have eyes in stock to switch, so you have to provide both sets of eyes.

3. Who has the best AG doll wigs?

Well so far we have bought wigs for Blythe dolls, but they are not the best quality.

They come in funky colors though, so that is why we bought them.

Most customizers cite Kemper, Monique, and Ruby Red Galleria as having the better wigs.

And from what I have seen, I think Ruby Red Galleria has the best wigs. The most colors. The most styles for girl dolls that are 18" -- for boy dolls I would try Monique.

Ruby Red Galleria 18" clothing and wigs page:

http://www.rubyredgalleria.com/index.php?Category_ID=500

We don't really like the look of the dolls they use for their shots. But they can't exactly use AGs in their product photography, haha. Wish they at least used a Gotz or something though. :-/

Monique page:

http://www.monique.com/wig01.html

The Monique wigs come in many different sizes. For AGs you would want the 10-11 size.

For instance, when we get a boy AG doll we would like the Monique Johnny wig seen here:

https://secure.wavi.com/monique/cgi-bin/shopper?key=MT265&preadd=action

It is available in 15 colors!

4. Where can you find a custom outfit for a reasonable price? 

What did you get from them?

Well, we shop for most of our custom outfits on Etsy.

Right now Lisa of Royal Doll Boutique is our go-to girl for modern clothing.

The quality and fit is amazing.

AMAZING.

AMAZING.

AMAZING.

Can I say amazing again?
She is a perfectionist.

Lisa pretty much makes whatever we ask her for.

You get an idea in your head, she'll make it.

Her prices are also very reasonable.

A custom outfit from her won't put you in the poor house.

As far as what we get -- we have ordered tops, pants, shorts, jackets, and more.

We have also been ordering custom stuff from Etsy's Fox and Family/Acorn Soup.
Also very high-quality items, beautiful design, and great prices.

Jane is a great resource for unique items, like this Chinese outfit we got from her. We have also gotten backpacks, colored pants, hats, an apron, and a lab coat from her.

She is super enthusiastic and creative.

Her stuff is also

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING!!!

Our rule of thumb is to browse Etsy for a good quality shop, and just ask the seller if they will make our custom idea into a reality.

It never hurts to ask and many sellers love to do custom work because it can be quite creative.

If someone says they can't make something for you, just find another shop and ask that seamstress.
Don't get discouraged.
Sometimes people just don't have free time.
That doesn't mean the next person can't make your outfit. :-)

5. How do you find cheap dolls on eBay?

Well, we haven't bought dolls on Ebay. So we can't quite help you there much.

We have a lot of allergies, so we only buy dolls straight from AG.

But from others we have heard that the key to find affordable dolls on Ebay is to look for listings where the person doesn't know what they have. A little devious, but that is how the world works.

Listings where they don't put in the words "American Girl" or "Pleasant Company" but instead just "doll." Same goes for the names. Often people sell Samantha not knowing they are archived dolls, for example. So sometimes you'll find a Josefina, or Marisol, or Sam, etc. but without their actual name in the listing. And they might be more affordable.

Also, the best places to look for affordable dolls are local goodwills, thrift shops, craigslist items, yard sales, and flea markets. We have heard tons of stories of people finding great dolls at these places for amazingly low prices.

6. If I make a custom doll, where should I post it?

If you are 13 or older you can post about it on AG Playthings.

Or you can create your own blog or Youtube account to show it off.

Many custom dolls have their own Facebook pages.

And you can always share your pics on other people's Facebook pages, 
like our FB page or Doll Diaries.

Char on Doll Diaries is always taking in and posting fan photos.

7. What are you doing with the other bald doll?

We want one bald doll to be a girl and the other to be a boy.

But we haven't bought either one yet.

So we can't tell you for sure the specifics of what will happen, haha.

8. Best Etsy shop that is super cheap?

Well it depends on what you mean by super cheap. Haha.

But again, we think the Royal Doll Boutique is both awesome and affordable.

Off of Etsy, I recommend visiting All Dolled Up Doll Clothes.

She offers wonderful doll clothing for great prices.

9. Favorite custom doll creator?

We don't actually know many. Haha.

We know people who do it occasionally for themselves.

But I really only know of one that does it for a living really.

So until we know of more customizers, we really can't say for sure.

Haha.

10. Favorite custom doll on YouTube?

I want a custom doll, I am wondering, thanks!

Well, there are a lot of them on Youtube.

And it would be difficult to pick just one. 

Some of the hair, skin, eye color combos are quite striking.

But our fav custom doll we have seen 

is Kittzykk's Vocaloid Hatsune Miku AG version of the Pullip doll.
We would love to have the Pullip; we love the anime Vocaloids.
So this AG version is extra, extra awesome to us.
Very creative, and she did it all herself.

11. Do you ever get tired of dolls?

If so... How do you get back into them?

Yes. We do get tired of them. Mostly because we have so many and it is difficult to play with them due to lack of space. We would like to have a whole huge dollhouse and a studio for photo shoots. But we don't.

So that can get frustrating and then sometimes we ignore them for a little while.

I recommend taking a week break from them and from AG websites, blogs, Facebook pages, Youtube, etc. Once you remove yourself from that world and pay attention to other things in your life, it is easier to get excited about them again after a break.

Then we check out AG Playthings, Facebook, Pinterest and Etsy for exciting items and ideas.

And we try to come up with new ideas for our own photos, crafts, outfits.

Whenever we get a great new idea for a photo shoot or bizarre doll creation, we get excited about the dolls again.

Also, when we get tired of them sometimes it is fun to just dream/think about the next AG release, like the GOTY 2013 and what might be in her collection. Or to think more about a doll character you have or want to have. Develop her story, her interests, her style.

So we recommend taking small breaks occasionally.

But we don't recommend selling or giving away your dolls.

Even if you are becoming a teen who just isn't interested in them anymore, we would definitely save them for later. When you want them for sentimental reasons, or as an adult collector, or if you have daughters, they will be there waiting for you. 

Trust us, you don't want to give up a part of your childhood and then regret it.

Selling a Jess doll and then looking for another one online years later is going to be very expensive. It's better to just keep what you have and store it properly until you are interested in the dolls again.

It's much more affordable that way, haha. ;-)

12. What kind of toys does your husband collect? 

Right now? Motorcycles. 

Which we aren't very happy about...haha.

"The Man" also collects kites.. and man-toys like electronics and tools.
And I am pretty sure he wants to build rockets.
(We don't really want that to happen.)

As far as branded "children's" toys, that is mostly our department.

13. What is your advice on getting more blog/facebook followers?

This is a difficult one to answer briefly.

So we will dedicate another post to it.

(Stay tuned.)

For now, I would say open yourself up to social media options -- Facebook, Blog, Pinterest, and Youtube. People do Twitter as well. 

But we don't quite have anything to say on there right now, haha.

And then network as much as possible with other doll bloggers.

Comment on their FB and blog posts.

Make your name known and also include links to your blog in your comments and on your Facebook page so people can find it easier.

Also, we recommend taking pics of your dolls.

High-quality ones.

And sharing them on AG's Facebook page.

That might get your blog some more attention as well, via your FB page.

14. What is your all time favorite doll outfit? (yes I realize that might be impossible to answer:))

Yeah it is kind of impossible to answer, haha.

But we would say one of our faves eva is Nora's Supergirl Costume that we got from Veba Sews 4 U. http://www.etsy.com/shop/vebasews4u

Here are her shop photos of it:

Veba is on vacation right this moment, but will be back.
And she still sells these costumes, even four years later. :-)

The Supergirl costume was one of the first handmade AG outfits we found on Etsy.

Nora wanted it right away and it really helped form her personality -- she loves costumes, loves being in the spotlight, and loves the handmade options available on Etsy. And of course, this blog is really hers. (Though Maple has taken co-command of it, haha.)

15. Any wise words on keeping up with doll stuff/sewing doll clothes in college?

Live at home, or in an apartment without a roommate.

Haha.

Brutally honest, but true.

The main issue is not so much time, but living arrangements.

You can always set aside a little time each day to do a hobby.

But you can't take over a tiny dorm room with 20 dolls and kick your roommate out, haha.

During college we had dorm roommates and very little living space.

There certainly wasn't room to have the dolls there, or even a few outfits, 

never mind a crafting/sewing space.

And I am pretty sure having a doll there would have creeped some of my roommates out.

(Not everyone loves dolls the way we do, not even other girls.)

If you can manage to get a "single" room -- I would definitely go for that and then make sure you join some clubs, get a lunchtime buddy, and/or a study buddy to stay social.

If you can't live at home, get an apartment, or get a single dorm room... 

I would plan, plan, plan.

Sometimes that is fun too!

Plan ahead for a couple things you want to make over the winter and summer breaks when you are home with your dolls and supplies.

We still do that today.

We plan ahead for things we can do with the dolls or crafts to make when we are traveling and visiting family.

Next use the internet.

Join AGPT or other hobby-related message boards.

Create a FB page for your fav doll.

You can chat and converse on these sites, see other people's dolls, and crafts, and really connect with like-minded people. All from the comfort of a laptop.

And of course, you can use the internet to help plan ahead for those projects you'll do while home for the breaks.

Overall, don't lose yourself just because you are in college.

It is easy to do.

You form yourself into someone you think other people will like more.

You know you still like the dolls, toys, sewing, whatevs you like - don't forget those things.

Don't let the peer pressures of new friends and a new environment force you to be and act like someone else. You don't have to shout from the rooftops that you like AGs, but you don't have to lock them all away, pretend you are all grown-up, and that you don't need them anymore.

Everyone needs a hobby to stay sane, balanced, and happy.

In this vein, don't be ashamed to keep asking for doll stuff on your birthday and holiday wish lists. If your family thinks you are insane, tell them there is a healthy, adult AG collecting community.

We are very proud of ourselves, and we think everyone who wants to collect AGs should.

Any parental unit who declares you are too old for dolls should eat their weight in biodegradable packing peanuts. 

Yes, we just said that. :-P

Parental units who try to make you be someone you are not are expressing more of their own problems than any of your problems.

16. How do you get more people to read/comment on your blog?

This kind of falls into the previous question of how to get more followers.

So you can see the answer above to that question, and as we said -- we'll do a post (or a couple posts) on this in order to address it more thoroughly. :-)

17. How many pets do you have and do you plan on buying more?

AG Pets? Or actual living pets? Haha.

For AG Pets we have a lot. And we do plan on getting more, like the new MyAG doggie Meatloaf. He is on our holiday wishlist.

What we have includes several horses, including Our Generation horses from 
Target and AG horsies.
Kaya's animals set.
Kaya's Tatlo.
Felicity's lamb Posie
Caroline's cat Inkpot.
Josefina's baby goat Sombrita.
Cecile's parrot Cochon.
Marie-Grace's dog Argos.
Kirsten's cat and kitten.
Samantha's dog Jip.
Kit's dog Grace.
Julie's dog walking set.
(So I guess we kind of need Bennett, Yank and Julie's bunny to complete this set.)

Lanie's bunny, two of those.
Lanie's wildlife set.
Lanie's Racoon in a Can.
Nicki's Sprocket, a few of those.
Chrissa's llama.
Kanani's dog Barksee.
Kanani's monk seal.
McKenna's dog Cooper. (Very close to Pooper, I just noticed.)

My AG Pets:
Chocolate Chip
Coconut
Pepper
Honey
Sugar
Praline
Toasty

I guess we need another stuffed pet like we need a hole in the head...
*Looks at pics of Meatloaf

18. How many meet {AG} outfits do you have? 

Good question. MyAG meet outfits? Or historical ones too?

We have all of the historical meet outfits except Nellie and Marie-Grace.

Because we don't have those dolls, haha.

For MyAG we have the original 1995 Girl of Today "Blossom-esque" Mix and Match outfit, the 2004 Ready for Fun Outfit (we think that was a meet outfit), the 2006 I Like Your Style outfit, the 2008 Star Hoodie outfit, and the 2010 Real Me Outfit.

We don't have the 2012 yet. Not sure what we are calling that one, haha.

___________________

So those are our answers for these questiones.

If you have mo' questions for us, please ask below and we'll answer them in the next round.

And stay tuned for our "Blogging 'n Facebook: Online Presence Hints" 

posts that we will craft for you. :-)

Thanks for visiting us today!!!