Witches Three

As far as the original hideous image of witches that we started this tale with . . . the cackling, old, ugly, hooked-nose ladies stirring their cauldron; it's probable that they never really existed except in the vivid imaginations of storytellers. Witches were often spoken of as being old and ugly because evil was considered to be ugly . . . therefore it made the story much more interesting to portray witches this way. The steaming cauldron almost always associated with witches, is more likely to have originated from the large pot in which potions were made by the early healers to cure the ailing.

-oOo-

Three young witches sat by a tree

and wished with all their might,

that ghouls and ghosts would not appear

on Hallows Eve, or any other night.

With hands entwined they closed their eyes,

softly chanting incantations

which called upon the fairies, to help rid

the world of evil infestations.

Two pumpkin cauldrons spattered 'n' popped,

they fizzed with utter delight,

 good omens departed swiftly on the wind,

crushing every wicked thing in sight.

When dawn broke in the early morn,

the witches smiled with glee,

with the fairies help they'd conquered all

and fulfilled their destiny.

© S.D.Smith

-oOo-

Happy Halloween!

Photoshoot: One, Two, Three

I have just finished sewing some simple dresses for three of my KID's and had a quick photoshoot today in keeping with the current season of Halloween . . . so stand by for some more "double, double toil and trouble" from siblings Irene, Lonnie and their older cousin Paige.

I ended up keeping the red wig for Lonnie, and just restyled it so it didn't cover so much of her face. I may replace it at a later date if I find a red one that's short and curly.

Double, Double Toil and Trouble!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) from Macbeth.
Act IV, Scene 1

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three Witches.

1st WITCH: Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.

2nd WITCH: Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.

3rd WITCH: Harpier cries:~ 'tis time! 'tis time!

1st WITCH: Round about the caldron go;

In the poison'd entrails throw

Toad, that under cold stone,

Days and nights has thirty-one;

Swelter'd venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!

ALL THREE: Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

2nd WITCH: Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. 

ALL THREE: Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

3rd WITCH: Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;

Witches' mummy; maw and gulf

Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;

Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;

Liver of blaspheming Jew;

Gall of goat, and slips of yew

Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;

Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;

Finger of birth-strangled babe

Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,

Make the gruel thick and slab:

Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,

For the ingrediants of our caldron.

ALL THREE: Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

2nd WITCH: Cool it with a baboon's blood,

Then the charm is firm and good.

-oOo-
*brinded ~ having obscure dark streaks or flecks on gray
*gulf ~ the throat
*drab ~ prostitute
*chaudron ~ entrails

-oOo-

Kids Wigs

Had a little play with my KID's wigs yesterday . . . I decided to keep Irene's wig, but restyled it to a hopefully younger look. There are some fly-away hairs that need tidying up, but I'll get to that after I have dressed her.

I turfed Lonnie's curls for a short bob, though I am not enamoured with it and am now thinking . . . maybe I should change her eyes, or at least re-position them?

I gave Paige some plaits in the hope they would also make her look younger, but as I said to Rachael recently, there's something about this doll that doesn't quite work and I just don't know what it is. I suspect, aside from the very rosy cheeks, she has an old face for a KID . . . what do you think?

Taking a Different Direction

I have been spending most of my time in recent days, reorganising my blogs and am finally happy with the way it's all progressing. I know there are doll collectors who only collect BJD's, others who prefer Barbie, fashion dolls or play dolls, so each of my blogs will concentrate on a specific type of doll or indeed a clearly defined story.

Hopefully, I will be able to maintain all of them in the way I would like and that over time, each blog will have it's own roll of visitors, who are interested in reading about those particular dolls and stories.

To be brutally honest, I am not even sure where blogs are headed any more, but blogging about my dolls and their associated hobbies is something I really enjoy, along with the company I keep here. Sometimes, I find it hard to believe I have been blogging for so long, the ten years have slipped by so quickly. However, there doesn't seem to be the interest in blogs or blogging as there used to be when I began back in 2009, which for us who write them, is a damn shame.

What's more, technology has changed drastically during that time . . . what was supposed to save us time and bring us closer together, is just eating up all our time and creating a greater distance between people. It has become so overwhelming . . . a good proportion of this so called social media has managed to discourage conversation altogether and for my own sanity, it's made me do away with the majority of social media completely.

There have been occasions where I've wondered, whether at some point in the future, people simply stop talking and reading, and merely press buttons and look at pictures . . . I truly hope not . . . I find that a really sad thought.

Now I'm going back to working on my KIDS, but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts . . . which social media do you enjoy the most?

My Kids

I'm not sure what I am going to do with my Iplehouse KID Paige (Normal Skin), she's had a difficult time trying to find herself and I'm not sure why. She's not had much attention since I got her and she desperately needs shoes, I'm not even sure if I like her in this wig.

Lonnie (Peach Gold Skin) has changed her styling a few times and this is her latest phase. She told me she wanted curly hair, but it kind of swamps her face.

Irene (Special Real Skin) was my first KID. She grew up far quicker than I expected and was into more mature fashion long before I realised I hadn't given her character much thought. :)

I love her face, but she needs a new body as her resin colour has begun to change where she caught some sun on her shoulder. Stupidly, I left her in the wrong place in the doll room.

I shouldn't think it will be long before I give all three a complete make over, especially now I have them in my studio where I can see them. I need to really think about using all three in the same story though, maybe as cousins or room mates  . . . any suggestions?

Hoping, Wishing & Praying

I received an email this morning from Integrity Dolls with a host of beautiful dolls, but only two tempted me, along with just two of the many outfits. Now I am HOPING both dolls and both outfits will be available for me to purchase after the Convention is finished, and I'm PRAYING for some money to come rolling in so I can pay for them! :)

I've wanted a red haired Poppy Parker for such a long time and am WISHING she hadn't come along at a time when the coffers are depleted! GRRR!

The two outfits will fit in perfectly with the dolls I have already and if I have to choose between the dolls and the outfits, I will most likely buy the outfits, only because they will probably be less expensive to ship.

My IT dolls need accessories and I love the hat, shoes and sunglasses.

Photoshoot: Puppy and Truffles

What a lovely day . . . shall we go for a walk?

Perhaps I'll just pat you first.

You didn't have to push me over!

Can't you just play nicely?

Now where have you gone?

Oh there you are.

That's so naughty of you to hide from me.

Especially when it's nearly time for tea.

There's no need to be pushy!

Dolly said, if you're  a good puppy, you can have this big biscuit.

-oOo-

And so we end today's fun in the sun!

20 Years On

According to Wikipedia ~

"A ball-jointed doll is any doll that is articulated with ball and socket joints. In contemporary usage when referring to modern dolls, and particularly when using the acronyms BJD or ABJD, it usually refers to modern Asian ball-jointed dolls. These are cast in polyurethane synthetic resin, a hard, dense plastic, and the parts strung together with a thick elastic. They are predominantly produced in Japan, South Korea and China. The BJD style has been described as both realistic and influenced by anime. They commonly range in size from about 60 centimetres (24 in) for the larger dolls, 40 cm (15.5 in) for the mini dolls, and all the way down to 10 cm (4 in) or so for the tiniest of the tiny BJDs. BJDs are primarily intended for adult collectors and customizers. They are made to be easy to customize, by painting, changing the eyes and wig, and so forth.

The modern BJD market began with Volks line of Super Dollfie in 1999. Super Dollfie and Dollfie are registered trademarks but are sometimes erroneously used as generic blanket terms to refer to all Asian BJDs regardless of manufacturer."

To celebrate 20 years of the modern BJD, I thought it would be fun to re-do a "meme" of sorts that I did three years ago . . . just shoot and edit a magazine cover. I used PhotoShop Pro X7 to edit mine.

As October is when many of us celebrate Halloween, I have incorporated that theme. If you would like to have a little fun this month, I would love to see you all join in and design one of your own.

1. You need to think of a name for your magazine.
2. Choose a theme (it can be Halloween or something completely different).
3. Take an appropriate photo using your own BJD's.
4. Use your own editing programme (let us know which one you used).
5. Most of all . . . have fun!

NOTE: Now I know some of my readers don't own BJD's, but they do own dolls, so if they would like to do this "meme" with dolls from their own collections they would be most welcome to join in the fun. :)

Big hugs,
X