Casual Crew

      When I get a custom order for a doll I try to get it finished as quickly as I can. Sometimes people will say they can't pay for their doll until X date, and I will put a note on the order not to make it until shortly before that date. But mostly I like to finish things quickly. I am pretty good at waiting for items, but I don't love waiting, and I don't want to make anyone wait longer than they need to. I have made some issues for myself with this idea. As longtime blog readers know, I am bad at free time. Part of this is there is a little voice in my head reminding me of all the work that still needs to get done. And this is really just adult life. There is ALWAYS something that needs to be done. Work, chores of one kind or another, repairs, something. There is always something. Some people struggle with a work-life balance. A lot of times it's because they spend more time doing fun things than the things that need to be done. I struggle with being OK doing fun things. I am much better at it than I used to be. 

     So why am I talking about this? Again? Because I found a way to do something fun, that was also getting my work done. Casual dolls are still really popular and I want to make sure I have plenty of them available at my next live sale (March 27th at 2:30 EDT). So I have decided that even though I have orders I am going to alternate between orders and random dolls for my sales. Making custom dolls for an order gives me all of the guidelines (usually) to make the required doll. Sometimes it is fun and refreshing to just make whatever I feel like making. So instead of making myself crazy trying to finish up the orders as quickly as possible, I decided I would alternate what I work on each week. This week was orders. Next week I am back to whatever random dolls I feel like making. I think it will work out well. 

     I am still aiming to have dolls in a variety of skin tones and ethnicities. It is still sort of a struggle. I decided to make a doll with a body from Classic TV toys which has a dark skin tone, but is unmodified. She is just a darker version of the original Yvonne face. I am a bit iffy about it. But there are some dark skinned people of many ethnicities that have fairly Caucasian features and dark skin. Perhaps she is a mixed heritage. She might be a dark skinned Indian woman. I feel the modified faces are more realistic as people of color, but people come in many varieties. Maybe whoever gets this particular doll will give her a family tree and a backstory. That could be interesting. I will continue to keep trying for a variety of faces. I am determined that doll diversity is going to be a thing. I know some people also want a variety in body shapes, but I am not there yet. One step at a time. 

     I think this new plan for working on the dolls will be a nice brain-break and will give me some more energy for doing as much as I do. I also have some plans for customizing projects and painting that I am determined to make time for. NaMoPaiMo is nearly over and I am not quite finished with my horse. I am also very determined to finish before the deadline. I can do this.