Happy Birthday to Meee!

Today I am twenty-mumblemumblemumble, which makes me very nearly OLD on the basis that next year, I will be twenty-mumblemumblemumble + 1, which is technically not twenty-anything any more. Harrumph.

But anyway. I happen to be blessed with the absolute best of long-suffering boyfriends (who is tolerating the proliferation of tinythings in my study with all the grace that can be expected from a man with shelves full of D+D books, unpainted warhammer sets and board games). In his role as enabler, he today presented me with an exciting box filled with a big-headed eye-changing dolly, and some funky accessories to go with her!

I'm not sure Melchie took to her straight off...

I keep the tools on a high shelf... 

But Plink was very keen to give her a hand out of the box.

Melchie? Help please?

O hai! Let me remove the... gosh. That is rather a lot of sellotape... 

I'm sure they're going to get on fine.

Welcome to the league of ridiculous knitted headgear!

If you're after the specifics, she's a "Simply Chocolate" and it appears she thinks she's called Aspen. Her eye colours are blue, minty green, rather-startling-orange and quite-weird-pink... shall have to invest in some new chips soon.

She's not wearing any trousers. 

Melchett, stop mucking about.

If you shut her in there, Plink, I'll hand you the tape.

More photos on the flickr.

Stabby stabby stabby!

So we got another awesome parcel in the post yesterday, with some superb kit for the lab from the lovely Jo! It contained a bag of fuzzies for needle felting, a very exciting stabby hobby that I had yet to try.

Fuzzies!

Needle felting seems to involved (as I see it) ramming a sharp pointy object into a soft fuzzy object and making shapes that are kind of not soft and kind of not fuzzy.

Of course, the first thing to do is break one of the needles.

Muppet.

But then I started to get the hang of it, and without stabbing my fingers more than the once, made Mr Sinister Acorn Dude!

Acorn, check. Sinister, check. Yup. Sinister Acorn Dude. 

I think I need more practice! Thanks Jo! :D

She's heeeeere!

Treasure!

It's always nice when something really cool attracts enough really cool people to make a little community. So far, the Makie forum has been a bouncing-ground for enthusiasts of all backgrounds, from slightly geeky people with a magpie complex to serious and dedicated doll collectors who've been purchasing tiny shoes since nearly before I was born.

One of the most knowledgeable people on all things doll is the splendid Poklfil. Millie, her Makie, has been keeping us all amused with her antics and access to a seemingly endless wardrobe...

Punk Millie is the coolest thing ever.

Fil generously offered to send me some Mr Muscle Magic Eraser to help remove a few blue bits from Plink, but we weren't expecting the epic box of wonders that arrived!

I love parcels! I really, really love parcels! Squeee!

Yup, that's a whole heap of stuff, including some summery patterned fabric, an excitingly fluffy wig (which we've not tried on yet!) and a handmade voodoo doll necklace. Even more exciting was a cast-off knitted jumper, which is the perfect size for Plink to wear as an achingly fashionable tunic dress, which accessorises perfectly with a snazzy blue poodle brooch  that was also in the box!

I'm quite jealous and may have to make a human-sized version. 

Thanks so much Fil... I'm having a lot of fun constructing a return package!

Unboxing the Makie

After the relative trauma of receiving the Makie, the next hour in her company was one of deep joy, attempting to take photos in the rain and dark and failing miserably. But hey! The blog needs feeding, so here we go...

Makies arrive in a very chic cardboard tube travelling case. These things are robust! The outer bag of the package looked like it had been thrown around a depot a couple of times but the tube didn't have a dent on it.

The TUBE OF AWESOME

Once you open your tube, you extract your Makie, who is attached to a sort of spinal board affair* by grosgrain ribbon. Mine was a sunny yellow colour. The Makie is in the nuddy (le gasp!), but modesty is preserved on extraction by the careful positioning of your chosen outfit, beautifully packaged. 

Modesty preserved, wig sliding...

Also tucked into the Makie's tube-capsule is a guide to Makie care and maintenance, and your new-found friend's birth creation certificate. Mine has a pleasing 'divisible by 5 theme'. I'm a bit OCD like that.

25/05 65/100. if it divides by 5 I'm a happy bunny.

Of course, the next step was to detach Plink from her board and let her try on some of my home-made Makie creations... the photos of which I've already posted. 

First thoughts? 

She feels so delicate, but I'm reassured after a day or so of forcing her through multiple contortions that she's not a lady to snap easily. Removing the hands and feet is easy, although I'm a little concerned that the joints will wear with repetitive removal. Things that do need repeated moving are the hip joints, which are very tight on Plink. I'm guessing these'll loosen up with a bit of use, but it's very difficult to pose her in a sitting position unless the thing she's sitting on is at exactly the right height and has a compensatory degree of head-tilt; I think the pelvis comes down slightly too low preventing the formation of a 90 degree angle with the lower limbs and that's causing the problems here.

Balancing her standing up is relatively easy, it's all in getting the ankle joint positioned. Pleased to say she stood on the dining table all night without falling over, despite probable attention from curious cats. The upper limbs are easy to pose. 

Most annoying thing? Keeping the wig attached to the head! The skull has a couple of bits of sticky goo attached to them, but they quickly got covered in fluff and became less effective. I seem to have the knack of it now though, today's haircut (a much needed fringe-trim) went off without a hitch! 

Yay, non-wonky fringe! Happily Makies don't wriggle.

Oh look! A custom silk/cotton jersey mix shirt?! How fab... 

Makie overall is excellent. I've not photographed the clothing here, but I'm really impressed (and wondering how in the hell they do it) with the jeans, lab coat and shirt I received as my costume; not an unfinished seam in sight. The face is flawless, the head opens really easily and the wig is of a good quality and easy to style. 

Have you unboxed your Makie yet? Drop a comment... or better yet, link to some photos! 

*Spending at least 80% of my time working in an environment where exposure to spinal boards is a daily possibility, I can happily say that they look far more comfortable and chic than the real thing.

Makie Couture is not affiliated with Makie Labs in any way, shape or form. I just think what they do is really cool. 

Wheeeeeee!

My parcel was not only found, but hand-delivered by the area manager (who lives a couple of streets away) on his way home! Only had to email the CEO and inform him of my unchuffedness...

Anyway! Here's Plink modelling a couple of my pre-arrival creations. The light tonight isn't good enough for proper photos, but we'll have a full photoshoot tomorrow (probably after a bit of a haircut given she can't see out) and some first thoughts on her and her construction.

So chuffed she's here!