Ellie Mae a former Rainbow High Sheryl Mayor ..... "Like a Rhinestone Cowboy"

She was gonna be a mermaid from the get go but after ditching her initial tail/skirt part in the 'I'll-get-back-to-that-some-other-time-drawer' my mermaid inspirations for her were gone. 'For her' because after my 2 original mermaid paintings came down from the attic, the creative mermaid juices have been (over)flowing.

Modified RH Sheryl Mayer now known as Ellie Mae

Sheryl Mayer was the first RH doll I bought with the purpose to customise. From the small collection available in a local toy store, she spoke to me most. I already had a bunch of the Special Edition dolls smiling at me from their display cabinet. But no way was I'm gonna touch them.....yet!

As for Sheryl, I knew I was gonna modify her eyes. I like my dolls to have eyelids whether sculpted or drawn as long as they're there. So in her case I used acrylic monomer and polymer and sculpted the eyes with a brush. Giving them an almond shape enabled me to give her the more realistic and mature look I was going for.

While working on her I was also drafting patterns for several outfits I had in mind. And since I lovvvvve myself a cowgirl vibe, I decided to refine and enlarge a pattern I had made a while back for 2 Monster High customs. No easy task if you're a 'winger' and detail obsessed at the same time. The Rainbow High head shape (being wide but also pretty flat, front and back) made me end up with a 17"Monster High size hat....LOL. And although initially being disappointed, it was far from a lost cause. Having used new faced Sheryl as the hat model, everything fell in place.....it was then and there that Ellie Mae was born. I could see her so clearly in my mind, no more doubts about her final appearance, she was gonna be my Rhinestone Mermaid! After shrinking and some more tweaking of the hat pattern, it was plain sailing. Well....'plain'? Let's call it straight forward. There was nothing plain about it.

I ended up buying another Sheryl as I did not like the modified big boobed body for the final concept. In my opinion it was too much in combination with the hat and big rhinestones. So after matching the rhinestone colour choices and placement with her already ombre dye, I gave her hair a 'clean up' cut and restyled it into gorgeous big loose curls. The picture in this post gives a more accurate representation of the hair colour than the one in the first post from a while back. At least from where I'm sitting.....

All that's left now is adding the accessoiries not worn in the picture and taking some better shots that hopefully will capture the bling as well (crossing my fingers for the photography Gods to be on my side). Here's a view from the backside where I reversed the rhinestone colour gradient, going from light to dark.

Off to making her an optional custom stand and finalizing another 'Rock Goddess' outfit for a Monster High commission that has my name written all over. I love it, I love it, I LOVE IT!

Ellie Mae will be available in store soon. I'll link this post to her listing then or simply go here to see what's available at any given time.

'Darling Nikki' my second one of a kind Shadow High doll almost ready for take-off...

What's in a name? One may ask. Well for me when it comes to customising dolls, a hell of a lot. If that name doesn't come spontaneously while creating her, she ain't 'her' yet. I ain't feeling her as I did when I imagined her so something must be missing...

When that happens, whether early or late in the process, I'll put the doll on display in eyesight from my working spot, so I can look up every so often asking myself:''Who are you? Why ain't you there yet?'' Often it will be little tweaks or additions that will get me there but sometimes it simply doesn't come. In that case the doll moves out of sight into the drawer where the dolls have no name. Waiting for that fire in my belly to ignite again, to see them for who they're supposed to be and finish them accordingly.

None of that was an issue with this little lady. Plain sailing, go with the flow on feelings as it's supposed to be. So it didn't take long for my 'Darling Nikki' to be born. With the original Shadow High doll being a personal favorite mold of mine and 'for the love of Prince' everything fell in place as it was supposed to be. Very good feels allover and more than happy to present her to you.

Her hair will be tidied up and she'll be getting her photoshoot (sounds fancy coming from a crap photographer LOL) today. She will be listed/available for purchase here once that's done. For now a few snaps taken on my desk yesterday after finishing her up.

Keeping things B&W with a Mellow filter for now....

Shadow High Luna Madison...now going through life as Agapi

'Aγάπη' in greek, the meaning of love and a female name. Sweet, sexy and adorable...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!...and that's something this crazy world can never get enough off.

Agapi will soon be available in store. A few more details will be added to her outfit as well as her face. Not sure yet if she'll get some shimmer or strass....might end up with a combo. I'll update the post with a link to her listing once she's 'done and dusted'.

As for the work done on this 'rebirth'.....I removed Luna's factory make up, eyelashes and fringe, died her hair, prepped her with MSC and defined her facial features with subtle shading and high lighting. Make up has been done in purple and blue tones with magenta and purple layers on her lips to match her dyed hair. Original eyes have been modified/repainted and new natural looking eyelashes have been added. Hair is styled in a partial puffy braid and the lengths have been curled. I made her a removable detailed hand made outfit and a range of accessoiries that with the exception of 3 bracelets are all hand made by myself.

Well enough talking....time to get something done!

Although 'done and dusted' for a little while now, she can be seen here (reserved!) in her final form.