Is there a best time for Play time? Part 2/3

Hi dollies!

Welcome to our second installment of the topic series, Playtime.

In Part 1, our dolly friends described their own fun way of spending time with their dolls.

We found out that Photography, Styling or Dressing Up, then Dolly Crafting 

among others come close to being the most enjoyable activities during playtime.

And of course, we are reminded that dolly time is a great stress-reliever!

Again, I'm sending huge warm hugs and kisses to our dolly friends

who contributed in this article.

Vana, Debbie, Melan, Terri, Javi, Bubbles

Robert, Diadema, Kenya, jSarie, Jelyn, 
Edel, Marcela, Barry ...

-- my dolly world won't be as fabulous without our friendship!
Thank you very much from the bottom of my doll-loving heart!

#squadgoals

For this post, we will focus on time management - dolly style!

Being adult doll collectors with bills to pay, 

most of us can only do playtime during our free hours.

These pockets of precious time are usually stolen from our daily routine, 

either to relax our minds and bodies after a long day at work, 

or to jazz up our day between mundane tasks.

Scheduling playtime during weekends also works for our dolly friends 

as some playtime activities beg for longer time than just weekday lunch breaks.

Managing dolly playtime still boils down to each of our lifestyle choices

but do read further to get an idea how our dolly friends do it 

so that their doll collection still gets the attention it deserves.

Free Time is Dolly Playtime

“I’m terribly busy with my work”, says Edel. 

“(I play during my) free time mainly, and during dolly meets in town.“

A photo posted by @edelmo on Jul 6, 2016 at 2:10pm PDT

Edel's Poppy Parker is out and about

Kenya confesses to only playing when she has free time. 

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find time lately, 

but I’m hoping my schedule will ease up over the coming months.”

Javi also only spends time with dolls during his free time, 

because “I work too hard… “, he says. =D

Vana frees up her time when the need arises. 

Real life, that means job, family and friends so as housekeeping come first 

but when a parcel of new dolly clothes arrives, “the housekeeping has to wait.” =D

Vana's gorgeous male doll wearing her own handmade sweater

“No scheduled playtime for me,” says Diadema.

“I just enjoy the company of my dolls whenever I feel like to. 

But my typical playtime would be at night after work.”

A photo posted by demzcharmedone (@demzcharmedone) on Jun 24, 2016 at 6:57am PDT

Diadema's Aria chilling after a long day at work

 “With my busy schedule at work, and for family and friends, 

I do not make or set time for my playtime. “ Melan tells. 

“But I make sure that at least once a week 

I get to at least remove one of them from their box.”

jSarie doesn’t schedule playtime, but it tends to happen over lunch hour during the week 

(one of the benefits of working from home). 

“I usually manage to fit in at least one session each week.”

One of jSarie's BJDs hiking along the Bruce Trail on the Niagara Escarpment

Weekends are the best Play days

“Scheduling is definitely important because there are other things

you need to attend to within the week. “ says Robert. 

“But I make it a point to at least look and touch them 

whenever I'm too busy with work and don't have time for a photo shoot.”

Robert mostly does his shoots during the weekend, at around 4 in the afternoon. 

“They are sort of my stress relievers and also my chance to practice photography.”

Robert's Veronique looking glamorously casual

Vana confirms mostly having the time to play during the weekends.

“Typically, I play on weekends, especially Sundays. 

These are the days when I am not busy, “says Jelyn.

When Debbie schedules any doll time, it is also usually for the weekends, 

which are her days off of her full-time job. 

“Usually during the week, I have very little time or motivation 

to do anything doll related other than the daily social media networking 

with other collectors.”`

Debbie's girl and her atelierniSHASHA haul

“Saturday morning is usually when I write, but if I am motivated, 

I will write in the afternoons during weekdays. 

Doll restorations are usually devoted to weekends as well 

when I have more free time,” adds Debbie.

Barry's main ladies

Barry also uses up his rest days (off-work days) from Sunday night 

through Monday for his dolly playtime.

But every little bit during weekdays, too…

A photo posted by @aneky43251 on Dec 17, 2014 at 6:15pm PST

Kenya's Kyori having a nail polish situation

Kenya plays on weekends mostly, as well. 

“But if I’m working on a photo I’m really excited about, 

I’ll try to do a little here and there during the week, 

especially if the setup involves a lot of accessories.”

Javi used to play with his dolls many times during the week, 

but he admits to enjoying it the most during Sundays, 

when he has longer time for the activity.

Javi's lovely Skipper, who he rerooted and repainted himself

Likewise for Edel, as he also tries to do something doll-related daily, 

but playtime for him is more of a weekend thing.

Marcela does a little bit of both. 

“I love my dolls, and designing for them is my lifetime dream, 

so I make as much time as I can to make my dream come true. “

A photo posted by Marcela G (@kotoricouture) on Jul 8, 2016 at 3:27am PDT

Fun, friendly pillow fight over at Marcela's

Bubbles has two little girls who take up most of her time 

aside from her part-time job. 

“As of late, however, I realized I need some time for myself to keep my sanity. 

Thus, I resolved to carve out an hour everyday 

(whether it is early in the morning or in the middle of the day 

when my baby is taking a nap or late at night) 

to attend to my dolly world.”

Bubbles adds, “So far since January, 

I have been able to stick to taking an hour or two (if I am lucky) 

everyday to do dolly stuff.”

A gorgeous one from Bubbles' Poppy collection

This has become doable for Bubbles 

since through her constant paying of attention to her dolls, 

she became more efficient in her photography thus less time is required for the process.

When the mood hits Terri, 

like literally she can be sitting on the couch 

and an idea will just pop into her head, off she goes to the dollhouse.

A photo posted by Tee Baker (@baker.tee) on May 22, 2016 at 9:15am PDT

#onedollsock probably was Terri's spur of the moment on this one

 “I don't have a particular day for it.” says jSarie. 

“It's all about how much free time I have. “

Melan, also has no specific day, 

but when he takes out the dolls for a photo shoot, he does it in the morning. 

“For me, it’s the best time of the day to have a good quality natural light.”

A photo posted by Melan Reyes (@melandaydreamer) on Jan 15, 2016 at 7:24pm PST

Melan showcases Isha's beautiful tan via natural lighting

For Jelyn, finding time for playtime is quite hard 

so when she goes on vacations or family outings, 

she brings them for photo shoots.

Where Jelyn's family goes to chill, her dolls join the thrill...

Other than that, when she has a free weekend 

or when school is just too stressful and she thinks she needed a break, 

that's when life calls for a playtime.

I, too, even if I get the luxury to “play” with my dolls every day, 

most of these times are basically work. 

Even photo shoots during family vacations are sometimes business-related! 

Hahaha! 

But I make it a point that whenever I prep them up for a shoot, 

or try on an outfit I just finished, 

or put them in a decorated diorama box for a mini shoot, 

I enjoy every moment. 

I make sure that I look at their faces intently 

and often times, I get to appreciate them more. 

I would then be smitten, and that to me is playtime.

One of my mesmerizing ladies at the atelier, Kei

Also I make sure they look great in the clothes they are fitting, 

and just marveling at how they looked fabulous in those clothes, 

that to me is just pure fun play. 

The dolls can just be so mesmerizing, that you do not realize time passing by. 

As Jelyn puts it, “You touch one doll (even just to fix it), 

suddenly you find yourself playing with its hair, 

then you change its clothes and so on.”

I guess it’s genuinely playtime when you let loose in the activity. 

Whether you schedule or not, 

the most important thing is you are having a blast with your doll collection. 

I guess that is what we are trying to achiever here, right guys?

Again, thank you so so much to our dolly friends 

who were so kind enough to take some time off their playtime 

just to give us their opinion about this topic. 

Next week, we are to wrap up this Playtime series finally.

Thank you so much for making it down to this part, 

I hope you enjoyed the post and I'm looking forward to seeing on the topic finale!

Xoxo,

shasha