How to best enjoy Dolly Play time? - Topic Finale
Happy weekend, dollies!
Welcome to the third and final part of our Dolly Playtime topic, where we talk about how and when we best spend time with our doll collection, and how in the future we can improve our ways of giving back love to our dolls.
As always, we would like to thank our very generous doll friends who contributed to this article. Guys, you know how deeply grateful I am for everything that you share. Thank you so much!
In the past two parts, we talked about doll play being our own little stress-reliever, an activity that cools down our tired souls and bodies after a long week of hard work. Our play time may also be injected in small pockets of time to kick boredom out of our daily mundane tasks.
And above all else, our dolly play time is actually the miniature version of our life passions such as photography, styling, crafting, storytelling, organizing/decorating, shopping, vintage hunting, sharing with community, among others. As expected, there really is a more profound meaning to this thing outsiders call a “childish” kind of collecting.
In this last part of the topic series, we will try to unravel how doll play time may even be more enjoyable for our doll collectors. Would they need more time, or just a bit more of creativity?
Bubbles says, “I think no one ever has enough playtime! If I have all my time to myself, then I would be all played out. Lol! But I think finding the time to play is also part of the fun in doll collecting. After all, this is just a hobby, this is not our life; and one has to love the hobby to actually find the time for it.”
“Several things need to be prioritized, especially during school days when I need to prepare something for my students, not to mention the miniature business which I've started recently.”, added Diadema.
Marcela of Kotori Couture declares, “Not by a long shot! LOL! But... the more I have, the more I want! So I don't know if my "no" is an honest "no" or a greedy "no". I guess it's both.”
“I don't (have enough time).“, Robert simply puts. “ Dressing up a doll takes me hours, let alone start playing with them. Ideally, I think 3 days should be enough.”
Terri also wishes she had more time to dedicate to them.
Edel, Kenya, and Javi also think we needed to allocate more time for our dolls.
“I think I spend more than enough time with doll play, BUT more free time that would not take away from my other responsibilities and obligations might be nice.”, articulates Debbie.
For Vana, it’s “More or less, yes. I'm not sure if I would it enjoy it as much if I had endless time to play.”
jSarie says, “Definitely, yes. In fact I sometimes think I have too much playtime! ;) “
“With my busy schedule, I can say I have enough time with my collection.”, adds Melan.
Jelyn thinks she currently has enough playtime with her dollies. “But we have to make do with what time we have.. Haha”
“I think I have enough time to play with my collection”, replies Barry. “If I will rate my play time with my dolls, it will be 8 out of 10. “
“I think the best way to enjoy our collection is to focus on one or maybe two dolls at a time.”, was Jelyn’s matter of fact reply. “Say, for this week, you play with two dolls. You dress them up, take shots, and do your favorite activities with them. Then the next week, you take another 2 dolls out. It’s one of the things I do to get to play everyone. When I go on family vacations, I make sure not to bring the ones I’ve already brought with me the last time. Sometimes, I do couples playtime, too. I have about eight Kens and they have their individual partners. So it’s nice to shoot them together".
Vana also has a similar point: “ I want to give more attention to all the dolls I already have instead of buying new dolls again and again. I'm running out of space, that's one reason. The other reason is that it's a pity to own beautiful dolls and not to do anything with them. The money I don't invest in new dolls I can spend for new bodies and fashions for the "crew". So I can enjoy more what I already have. This does not mean that I will totally stop buying new dolls. I buy one, one of the older ones has to go.”
I am all for Jelyn’s doll rotation-based play time, as well as Vana’s less doll buying plan because of the same reasons they have. I am probably the thriftiest doll collector I know so these are one of my techniques when I feel like I’m (again and again) falling into the trap of adding dolls to my collections because of some incomprehensible reasons LOL!
“Finding new homes for the dolls I desire to sell will help me enjoy the remaining dolls I plan to keep.”, adds Debbie.
“I think the best way to further enjoy my collection is to be more organized so that I could spend more time with other aspects such as doll photography and creating dioramas. “ states Bubbles.
Robert adds, “Hmmm. I probably need to rearrange my storage. I should take them out of their boxes and display them. In that way, whenever I want to play with them, I can easily take the dolls right away.”
“I love even cleaning the closet shelves they stay on! LOL!”, confesses Marcela. “They are really one of my biggest joys! My 9 year long marriage is the biggest joy, but they come right after.”
Kenya and Edel are absolutely sure that having more free time with the dolls will be the best way to enjoy their collections more. Edel beams, “(Winning the) lottery, then I will have more free time for sure, that would be the real prize!”
“Winning Powerball - so I can buy each and every doll I want and have plenty of time to play with them.”, adds Kenya.
“I would really love to make clothes for my dollies. I guess that's one of my frustrations. I have tons of clothing ideas in my head but I'm having problems sewing them. “, says Diadema. “I don’t know how to use a sewing machine. Although I know how to sew manually, I prefer not to, because like what I've said, I'm an OCD- type of person, and sewing with your bare hands would mean it won't come out perfectly.”
“It’s been my dream to have my own fashion creation on my doll collection, which i think will just remain a dream. Hahaha!”, laughs Melan.
For Barry, the best way to enjoy his collection more is by sharing his ideas and learnings that he has also learned from others. From this, he builds good camaraderie within the doll community.
“Sharing my pictures with other doll collectors…”, Javi adds. “I think it’s nice when other people like your dolls, too.”
jSarie answers, “That's a tough one, because I think it's tied to mood and personality - sometimes you're just in the mood to make some new wigs for a doll, and other times you just want to gaze upon them while they sit on display. So I suppose there's a best way, beyond saying "whatever makes you happiest"!
So there you go, loves! Once again, we have tackled and concluded yet another doll collecting topic that helps newbie collectors decide better during their fragile early collecting days, as well relatively older collectors who might want to get new ideas from the community. If you have any topics you want to discuss over here, drop a message below, and surely I'll find a way to pick into the minds of these dolly friends of ours for more dolly pointers in the future.
Thank you so much again to our contributors and to you, reader...
Tell me, how can I do all this without you? =)
That's it for now, loves! 'Til our next doll collecting topic time!
xoxo,
shasha
Welcome to the third and final part of our Dolly Playtime topic, where we talk about how and when we best spend time with our doll collection, and how in the future we can improve our ways of giving back love to our dolls.
As always, we would like to thank our very generous doll friends who contributed to this article. Guys, you know how deeply grateful I am for everything that you share. Thank you so much!
Vana, Debbie, Melan, Terri, Javi, Bubbles
Robert, Diadema, Kenya, jSarie, Jelyn,
Edel, Marcela, Barry ...
Robert, Diadema, Kenya, jSarie, Jelyn,
Edel, Marcela, Barry ...
In the past two parts, we talked about doll play being our own little stress-reliever, an activity that cools down our tired souls and bodies after a long week of hard work. Our play time may also be injected in small pockets of time to kick boredom out of our daily mundane tasks.
And above all else, our dolly play time is actually the miniature version of our life passions such as photography, styling, crafting, storytelling, organizing/decorating, shopping, vintage hunting, sharing with community, among others. As expected, there really is a more profound meaning to this thing outsiders call a “childish” kind of collecting.
In this last part of the topic series, we will try to unravel how doll play time may even be more enjoyable for our doll collectors. Would they need more time, or just a bit more of creativity?
Play time = Enough or Not?
I fall into this cycle of a trap all the time as well. It’s like, too little time so much to do. You have too many dolls, you even have more ideas on what to do with them, but you have to do other stuffs first, like, work. Ha! Most of this topic’s dolly friend contributors say their current play time is never enough.
Bubbles says, “I think no one ever has enough playtime! If I have all my time to myself, then I would be all played out. Lol! But I think finding the time to play is also part of the fun in doll collecting. After all, this is just a hobby, this is not our life; and one has to love the hobby to actually find the time for it.”
| Bubble's Made to Move girls showcasing their new outfits |
“Several things need to be prioritized, especially during school days when I need to prepare something for my students, not to mention the miniature business which I've started recently.”, added Diadema.
Marcela of Kotori Couture declares, “Not by a long shot! LOL! But... the more I have, the more I want! So I don't know if my "no" is an honest "no" or a greedy "no". I guess it's both.”
| The beautiful girls over at Marcela and Jojo's Kotori Couture |
“I don't (have enough time).“, Robert simply puts. “ Dressing up a doll takes me hours, let alone start playing with them. Ideally, I think 3 days should be enough.”
Terri also wishes she had more time to dedicate to them.
| Terri's gal having a me time... |
Edel, Kenya, and Javi also think we needed to allocate more time for our dolls.
“I think I spend more than enough time with doll play, BUT more free time that would not take away from my other responsibilities and obligations might be nice.”, articulates Debbie.
 |
| Debbie's Chyna, the main character in the Disney show, A.N.T. Farm |
Some of our dolly friends are totally okay with how much attention they currently give to their collection.
For Vana, it’s “More or less, yes. I'm not sure if I would it enjoy it as much if I had endless time to play.”
jSarie says, “Definitely, yes. In fact I sometimes think I have too much playtime! ;) “
“With my busy schedule, I can say I have enough time with my collection.”, adds Melan.
| Melan's beautiful doll photography |
Jelyn thinks she currently has enough playtime with her dollies. “But we have to make do with what time we have.. Haha”
“I think I have enough time to play with my collection”, replies Barry. “If I will rate my play time with my dolls, it will be 8 out of 10. “
And as a final question to my contributors in this topic, I asked them how they think their dolly play time be more enjoyable.
What types of changes would they do in order to have a much more pleasurable time spent with their precious collections? This is what I found out:
Figure out first what to do with the dolls you already have
“I think the best way to enjoy our collection is to focus on one or maybe two dolls at a time.”, was Jelyn’s matter of fact reply. “Say, for this week, you play with two dolls. You dress them up, take shots, and do your favorite activities with them. Then the next week, you take another 2 dolls out. It’s one of the things I do to get to play everyone. When I go on family vacations, I make sure not to bring the ones I’ve already brought with me the last time. Sometimes, I do couples playtime, too. I have about eight Kens and they have their individual partners. So it’s nice to shoot them together".
 |
| Jelyn's vacationing couple |
I am all for Jelyn’s doll rotation-based play time, as well as Vana’s less doll buying plan because of the same reasons they have. I am probably the thriftiest doll collector I know so these are one of my techniques when I feel like I’m (again and again) falling into the trap of adding dolls to my collections because of some incomprehensible reasons LOL!
 |
| Vana's Dominique at the cabin |
“Finding new homes for the dolls I desire to sell will help me enjoy the remaining dolls I plan to keep.”, adds Debbie.
Be more organized
“I think the best way to further enjoy my collection is to be more organized so that I could spend more time with other aspects such as doll photography and creating dioramas. “ states Bubbles.
Robert adds, “Hmmm. I probably need to rearrange my storage. I should take them out of their boxes and display them. In that way, whenever I want to play with them, I can easily take the dolls right away.”
| From Robert's latest shoot |
“I love even cleaning the closet shelves they stay on! LOL!”, confesses Marcela. “They are really one of my biggest joys! My 9 year long marriage is the biggest joy, but they come right after.”
More free time
Kenya and Edel are absolutely sure that having more free time with the dolls will be the best way to enjoy their collections more. Edel beams, “(Winning the) lottery, then I will have more free time for sure, that would be the real prize!”
| Edel's Fan Bingbing doll strolling as most of his dolls love to do... |
| Just some of Kenya's many dolls wanting more of her time |
Be more creative
“I would really love to make clothes for my dollies. I guess that's one of my frustrations. I have tons of clothing ideas in my head but I'm having problems sewing them. “, says Diadema. “I don’t know how to use a sewing machine. Although I know how to sew manually, I prefer not to, because like what I've said, I'm an OCD- type of person, and sewing with your bare hands would mean it won't come out perfectly.”
| Diadema's soon to be models of her own collection |
“It’s been my dream to have my own fashion creation on my doll collection, which i think will just remain a dream. Hahaha!”, laughs Melan.
Sharing of Ideas with the Dolly Community
For Barry, the best way to enjoy his collection more is by sharing his ideas and learnings that he has also learned from others. From this, he builds good camaraderie within the doll community.
 |
| Bally's pretty IT boy trying out a Mattel ensemble |
| One of Javi's latest dolly photos shared over at his Flickr page |
“Sharing my pictures with other doll collectors…”, Javi adds. “I think it’s nice when other people like your dolls, too.”
A mix of all play time activities
 |
| jSarie's dolls in various scales |
So there you go, loves! Once again, we have tackled and concluded yet another doll collecting topic that helps newbie collectors decide better during their fragile early collecting days, as well relatively older collectors who might want to get new ideas from the community. If you have any topics you want to discuss over here, drop a message below, and surely I'll find a way to pick into the minds of these dolly friends of ours for more dolly pointers in the future.
Thank you so much again to our contributors and to you, reader...
Tell me, how can I do all this without you? =)
That's it for now, loves! 'Til our next doll collecting topic time!
xoxo,
shasha
I enjoyed reading this. Can't wait for the next post:D
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your support, Jelyn! I love your inputs because they are very practical - I learn so much from them! xoxo...
DeleteThanks for bringing us all together to share info.
ReplyDeleteTerri!!! Thank you as well for sharing your thoughts, as always, dear...
DeletePerfect! I enjoyed reading this and plan to go back for the finer details. Great post Shasha!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, yes! So happy it got you inspired, love! Thanks so much and I'm looking forward to your new projects! <3
DeleteI'm playing catch up. All the photos are wonderful! I really enjoyed reading the responses. I picked up a couple of tips that I plan to use to make dolly play time better.
ReplyDeleteHey, Vanessa! So glad to hear you liked the piece and picked up some pointers along your way =) Thanks so much!
DeleteI'm glad I didn't forget to check out the post in full. I can't lurk to much at work, lol. I'll be getting some playtime in soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear, Brini! It's always fun to plan out some play time <3
DeleteA great Topic Finale! Loved to read all the opinions and to pick up some ideas!
ReplyDeletexoxo
So glad you enjoyed it, Vana as we all did it together! Thank you so much for your unwavering support, dear <3
Delete