It is the beginning of the new year and I have come to the conclusion after looking at my doll room, (please do not be shocked at the pictures of my private hoarding , er, collecting, cough , cough...that I have, (gasp) too many dolls.
The pictures I am about to show you are not of the lovely IKEA shelves and pristine pink walls of the usual Barbie Collector/Fashion Royalty perfectionistic collectors with perfect pretty dolls in a diva like setting. I WISH. Rather that of a collector whose one desire is to build the perfect scene and diorama and laments the lack of space to store and build and play. (yeah, that's me.) So I decided to go in an viciously clear out the herd. Put them on dollpages. More money for more dolls and more props.
I am usually sitting around like this, not perfectly coiffed like Poppy below, but in my jeans and reading with a nice snack. Yeah, I love to chill and I don't wear designer duds either, lol. My dolls do, though!
Then I started going thru the tubs and boxes and got stymied.
I succeeded in only listing one doll. Two Victoires I thought would definitely go were Grande Seduction Victoire and the convention Victoire. Then I opened them up and decided I liked them. I already have two, possibly three red headed Victoires! I don't need another. But I looked at her and she had that 50's Cecil Beaton look with the black pantsuit /weekender Dior thing going on. I couldn't , just couldn't list her. She wasn't a favorite on ebay either.
So instead here I have decided to show you my doll dilemna. My problem is they are also making so many wonderful Barbie Basics with interesting facemolds. So here we go for a little 'tour' of the smallest room in my house and most convaluted.
Above is the entrance. When I moved stuff around in the room, some of the older tiles came up. Eventually when we do more renovations, this room will be last. Those bags in the doorway? Convention dolls NRFB. The chair? More crap and NRFB dolls. and diorama items. you name it. In the corner, shelves, two of them back to back to make them deeper with props. Infront of that, my foamcore backdrops. In front of the window, another table with shelves underneath and my childhood dollhouse.
oH the shame. Now you see my real mess. I moved things around a bit and am still figuring out where to store Christmas. The tree hasn't come down in the dollhouse and the dolls are squirrely for Valentine's day. I keep the window clear as possible to let in light for photos. Right now I found more dollies I had forgot about and some need to be redressed and so on. Behind me is the doll town tables with tubs full of dolls underneath. As well as backdrops too. In the middle is squeezed the dollhouse. (Ironically, I was wondering if I could fit another dollhouse in here!) My cars and camper are underneath the table which you can't see.
The dollhouse, with temporary dolls on stands who need to be dressed or are custom projects or I just put them there with other items. The corner shelves with props and more dolls and my drawers with shoes, bags, stands and food items as well as a chair that was in here to sit on. More dolls in boxes...Clark Gable has not been deboxed, hmm, wonder how that happened.
This room was and always has been on the renovate list but since it is only used by me, I put the other house renovations first. This is the first time my new year's goals have been stymied because I am finding it hard to part with dolls! And there are more incoming. I am thinking of just putting a hold on more pretty dolls if I can.
I think my biggest problem is I feel pure guilt when I look at how many dolls I have...and that I can't play or display them all. I feel like an addict waiting for my next newest dolly 'fix' around the corner. I know my good intentions will evaporate if I go on Barbiecollector.com or look at all the pics on Flicker and Doll Divas.
Hopefully I can clear out some of the dolls on my Dollpages since I have lowered some of the prices. Here's hoping!~Lisa
The pictures I am about to show you are not of the lovely IKEA shelves and pristine pink walls of the usual Barbie Collector/Fashion Royalty perfectionistic collectors with perfect pretty dolls in a diva like setting. I WISH. Rather that of a collector whose one desire is to build the perfect scene and diorama and laments the lack of space to store and build and play. (yeah, that's me.) So I decided to go in an viciously clear out the herd. Put them on dollpages. More money for more dolls and more props.
I am usually sitting around like this, not perfectly coiffed like Poppy below, but in my jeans and reading with a nice snack. Yeah, I love to chill and I don't wear designer duds either, lol. My dolls do, though!
Then I started going thru the tubs and boxes and got stymied.
I succeeded in only listing one doll. Two Victoires I thought would definitely go were Grande Seduction Victoire and the convention Victoire. Then I opened them up and decided I liked them. I already have two, possibly three red headed Victoires! I don't need another. But I looked at her and she had that 50's Cecil Beaton look with the black pantsuit /weekender Dior thing going on. I couldn't , just couldn't list her. She wasn't a favorite on ebay either.
So instead here I have decided to show you my doll dilemna. My problem is they are also making so many wonderful Barbie Basics with interesting facemolds. So here we go for a little 'tour' of the smallest room in my house and most convaluted.
oH the shame. Now you see my real mess. I moved things around a bit and am still figuring out where to store Christmas. The tree hasn't come down in the dollhouse and the dolls are squirrely for Valentine's day. I keep the window clear as possible to let in light for photos. Right now I found more dollies I had forgot about and some need to be redressed and so on. Behind me is the doll town tables with tubs full of dolls underneath. As well as backdrops too. In the middle is squeezed the dollhouse. (Ironically, I was wondering if I could fit another dollhouse in here!) My cars and camper are underneath the table which you can't see.
The dollhouse, with temporary dolls on stands who need to be dressed or are custom projects or I just put them there with other items. The corner shelves with props and more dolls and my drawers with shoes, bags, stands and food items as well as a chair that was in here to sit on. More dolls in boxes...Clark Gable has not been deboxed, hmm, wonder how that happened.
This room was and always has been on the renovate list but since it is only used by me, I put the other house renovations first. This is the first time my new year's goals have been stymied because I am finding it hard to part with dolls! And there are more incoming. I am thinking of just putting a hold on more pretty dolls if I can.
I think my biggest problem is I feel pure guilt when I look at how many dolls I have...and that I can't play or display them all. I feel like an addict waiting for my next newest dolly 'fix' around the corner. I know my good intentions will evaporate if I go on Barbiecollector.com or look at all the pics on Flicker and Doll Divas.
Hopefully I can clear out some of the dolls on my Dollpages since I have lowered some of the prices. Here's hoping!~Lisa
6 comments:
The imperfect organization of the accumulation is not shocking!
This is what I suspect most of us deal with (at least, hey, I do): it starts with a few dolls that are going to have clothes, a lifestyle, a house... and then there's scope creep at a rate that one's best efforts to organize cannot keep up with because it's not just a moving target -- it's a target that takes off at a run in the opposite direction.
I think the guilt thing is part of the process of having huge amounts of creativity but only finite amounts of space, time, and energy. Thinking that doesn't solve it, but being a person who appreciates cool things and has ideas for creating cool things is better than the alternative.
Best wishes with the organizing/culling process -- it's genuinely difficult.
I'm in a similar situation. Even though I've made progress in decorating doll rooms and sorting/culling my collection, my doll room/bedroom is still a mess because there just isn't enough space. Even if I could find some nice new book shelves, I wouldn't have a place to put them. They'd block the heater, which is one of those hot water dealies that goes all around the room.
I don't know if this will help you, but I've been looking on Pinterest for creative storage solutions. One thing I found was painted wooden crates nailed to the walls. They'd make awesome dioramas, and they don't take up floor space! Here are a few other crazy things I'm considering: http://www.pinterest.com/saturdaysequins/get-organized/
I've also been watching Tiny House Nation on Youtube. So many creative storage ideas! Some of them can be adapted for the non-woodworker.
Smaller Places, well said! Part of my creativity in the midst of frugality and a budget is great, but on the other hand, I love to play with my dioramas, so I like them to be a little sturdy and permanent. Organizing the doll clothes- I think I have four? boxes of clothes. never can I find anything.
Saturday Sequins- I have followed Tiny House Nation too! I used to think- HOW could I live like this and still have dolls, dioramas, etc? lol..I've seen the crates on the walls, they are ingenious.
Thanks for showing us your doll room. I see you don't have a very large room that I thought but a well used one.
After seeing your photos, I realy need to get more tubs and lable them so that I know what is in them.
You seem to use the light from you window very well! Your photos are always well lit. My neigbors can see into my doll room from across the driveway, so maybe I need a half curtain to let in light.
I give you big thumbs up for being able to sit in your doll room. As of right now, I can't but that is a gold!
I am inspired by seeing your doll room! Thanks for showing it!
You are FAR from the only one in this situation. I have piles of boxes that I need to sort through and organize. It prevents the play/enjoyment I used to have there when it was a simpler collection and before things *cough* accumulated. I promised that things wouldn't stay outside of the room, but that hasn't happened as newer things stay in the den. Fortunately, I have an understanding SO, and the dogs stay away from them. I really need to pull myself together and get to it, though! :-)
Mrs. Leo and Troy, thank you for the compliments. Actually the chair has an accumulation of junk and I can no longer 'sit' in the chair! I have some back problems and sitting while putting the dollhouse in order helps. The shelves are simply full and I am not putting props on top of props.
My other problem is the 'big' doll furniture as I also collect bjd's and American Girl dolls! I have kept those dolls to a minimum of three AG dolls and satisfied my craving for the mini dolls which fit better in the dioramas. I also have a small collection of antique children's furniture which works for the American Girls, my twinn, and big porcelain dolls I have which measure 24-28 inches as well as the bjd's. and yes, it has poured into other rooms - I did not show you my dresser with props and dolls in my and hubby's bedroom. It is a total mess. As well as a spare bedroom that is piled to the gills...
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