Hello, everyone! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the late spring (or fall!) wherever you are.
I haven't had much time for dolls lately, but I did take some photos throughout the month to share on the blog. This is one of the prettiest times of the year and I love how magically green everything becomes!
Fields of dandelions are absolutely gorgeous to me! It seems like they only last for so long until they turn into white puff balls.
All of the cows have been moved out of their winter field and into their own pastures. They look so happy and at peace laying in the sun and grazing on the fresh spring shoots.
One of my favorite things is to watch the new spring bulbs pop up. It seems like every day there is new growth.
The mornings before work have been filled with sunshine and after we get Pumpkin Pie on the school bus, we're able to have a few moments outside before daycare/work. The second half of the month was so warm!
We had also been eating our dinner outside on the picnic tables each night and I love how long the sunlight lasts. It's hard to believe that the longest day of the year is coming up already!
Our little hummingbird friend is back. :)
Baby birds were everywhere this month. These guys all seemed to make it out of the nest and on to new adventures.
As for me, I've taken a step back from collecting and photographing dolls for the time being. I'm not sure what it is, but I haven't been inspired at all. I've even be slacking on catching up with everyone's doll blogs. It's been about 2 years since I started this, and I guess it's normal to sort of have the hobby take a bit of a break.
I've kind of gotten overwhelmed by the amount of money I've spent as well as the amount of time I had been putting into this. I know it doesn't seem like I post THAT much, but taking the photos, editing them, putting together a post and writing the words takes me ages.
I am also sort of getting overwhelmed with the AMOUNT I've collected. It has been a bit of an addiction for me and I guess I was starting to not like how that felt lately.
I did get a few things this month, which I may share in a video, but mostly we are trying to save for another car and it's both our daughters birthdays in June!
Hopefully the inspiration will come back, but for now, it feels great to take a break! I think I may try to sell a few of my bigger dolls as well as some of the Monster High and Ever After High I've collected. It's just getting to be too much!
I still have tons of photos I took last summer of different dolls, so my goal is to post those before I do any more doll photo shoots (unless it's a brand new doll that I'm really excited about)!
I would like to start trying more dioramas and scenes like the crafts from My Froggy Stuff and I'm learning that I don't have to collect every single doll from all of the lines I like. It's more about quality rather than quantity!
If you guys are interested in a collection video or doll room photo, I would be happy to share my "horde" before I start thinning it, lol. ;)
Thanks to you all for taking the time to visit and read. I hope you're all having a great week!
I hope you can get your doll stuff to a level that works for you. Christmas is my tightest time of the year, not only because it's Christmas, but my eldest has her birthday in December, and then my youngest's birthday is the beginning of February. Plus, my nice and great-nephew have birthdays in January!
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb!
DeleteThese are lovely photos. I am also hoping to do a lot more crafting and scenes for the dolls this summer.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kiki's Korner! I hope you find the time for your crafts this summer as well. :)
DeleteI love your spring photos! I takes me back to spring on our farm. We had Starlings build a nest in our old grill. We watched 5 little ones hatch. They are gone now. We also have 2 little chipmunks hanging out in the shrubs near our front door. Often times when I come home from dropping Hannah off at school, one of them will be sitting on the brick ledge right by the front door. If there were 3 of them, I would have to ask them to sing like Alvin and gang!
ReplyDeleteI too haven't done much with my dolls lately - other than expanding my collection. I too have been feeling a little guilty about the amount I am spending. I am going to the Fashion Royalty Convention in Chicago in October, and then I don't think I will join W Club next year. I am working on some housing for the dolls which I hope will inspire me to write some stories.
Do share photos of your doll room and "horde"! it might make be feel better about mine (lol)!
That's great that you could see the little starlings hatch! I love having nature and animals so close by. I could watch the birds for hours. It's good to know I am not alone in the doll collecting/horde!
DeleteLove how the dandelions add a touch of extra brightness to the kids, cows, and tulips! :)
ReplyDeleteI can understand wanting to take a break - I find that with any collection-based hobby, I need to pause and evaluate things to avoid getting into a cycle of constant shopping, and figuring out how to enjoy what's already here. Hopefully you can find the right balance for you (and selfishly, I hope it involves taking photos, just because I love seeing yours!).
Haha, thanks jSarie! :)
DeleteYour photos are beautiful Farrah, you live in such a lovely environment, as you say, very green...and so fresh looking. The girls look like they've grown a fair bit since I last saw them on here :) Your eldest girl is looking quite tall!
ReplyDeleteAs for dolls, I can completely understand the feelings you're going through, I think it happens to us all at some point, in any hobby I suspect. I sometimes need to take stock and say that x, y or z will go .... and then I move on and feel the fun again. It's no longer fun if it becomes a chore, is it? I find that with sewing for dolls if it is the same sized doll all the time, I can get a bit bored, so I am fortunate in that I have a lot of different sizes and dolls, as do my customers, so this keeps the boredom mostly at bay, which helps me a lot. So I flit about from one size to another and have fun. But I too am going to be downsizing my collection a bit later in the summer, because some of my dolls are seriously neglected and I know that there is someone out there who would give them the attention they so rightly deserve!
Enjoy your summer and I look forward to seeing your photos and yes, your collection, that would be lovely!
Big hugs, Sharon in Spain x
Thanks Sharon! It's nice to hear your perspective as well. I think in the beginning I was so eager to "get everything" and now I can actually sit back and figure out which ones I truly enjoy and which ones can move on. There is so much to enjoy about this hobby such as sewing and creating scenes that maybe I'm just ready to move on to a different part of it. :)
DeleteMy father-in-law was just commenting over the weekend about May being the greenest month with June right behind. The photo of the baby birds is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about getting carried away with a collection. It sure is easy to do, especially if it's something as cute as dolls and/or toys! I got that way with bears and then lost interest. I think that is why I've set a mental limit on my dolls, just one brand and only certain ones. It's also why I've had to limit myself even on thrift store stuff for the dollhouse, too easy to get carried away. Would love to see a photo before you thin out your collection!
That is great that you have your limits as well. I like that you seem to stick to most AG and that sized scale. I think it's more fun to enjoy a collection when it's more "specific". Yes, May and June are definitely the greenest!
DeleteHello! I understand how you feel about dolls. When I have holidays from University I try to post as much as I can but I can only manage to post about once per week because it takes me a lot of time to edit the pictures and write the text. Specially writting is hard for me, because I'm not a native english speaker, but I also consider the blog as a way to improve my english. Just do what you feel to do right now, there's no pressure. In the end, doll collecting is a hobby and the main goal is to have fun with your dolls. Hope I explained myself.
ReplyDeleteCheers.
Thanks for the comment, monstercraft! I think your English is amazing! I never wouldn't known!
DeleteThanks! You think that my english is amazing because you haven't heard me pronounce LOL! However, I'm happy that you think it's good enough.
DeleteEvery single photo reminds me of my childhood. Growing up in the country was wonderful. It's amazing how things I enjoyed as a kid, like laying in grass and playing with bugs, totally freaks me out now, lol.
ReplyDeleteDoll collecting sneaks up on you! You are in the midst of enjoying it and don't realize until too late how much you've spent and accumulated. Nothing wrong with taking a break.
Lol, Muff! I grew up in the country and couldn't wait to get away to bigger and better things. Now I'm so happy to be back, but I can't imagine walking through fields with tall grass anymore as I am super tick-phobic, lol. As kids we used to roll around and hide in the grass...ick!
DeleteThanks for your kind words. :)
Hi Farrah,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all these photos, it's nice to see something non dolly for a change. I noticed your hyacinth is such a pretty pink, mine were either pale pink or mauve this year, no deep pink ones at all...bugs must have ate them!
I do understand the addiction thing, I think I am addicted too! I keep saying no more but then everything changes when I see a doll I really love. :) Hopeless I am.
Hugs,
X
Hi Xanadu,
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the photos. It's so funny you mentioned the hyacinths because I could've sworn I bought red ones so when they came up pink, I was surprised. ;)
I am glad we are all addicted together!
Hugs back xo