My first entry!  Do many first blogs begin this way?  I'm unsure, but I need to start somewhere, so I guess I will start with my own beginnings and how I arrived at the career path I have chosen today.

I was raised in small town America, mainly in rural communities.  I have loved dolls and everything doll related since birth, and even began to "customize" my Barbies at a very early age.  My Mother might not have seen my marker-stained and mohawk styled doll as a custom, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

Anyway, I had tons of dolls of every shape style and form, but I loved Barbie most of all.  She was everything and every woman and that made her fantastic.  I would sew clothing for my dolls, restyle their hair, and create elaborate houses in which they would live out their fascinating lives.

In my late teens I found online communities of artists who didn't just sew the clothing but would scalp and reroot their hair and remove and repaint their faces.  Some artists were even modifying the bodies, creating fantastical mythical creatures such as mermaids and faeries.  I was enthralled!  And I wanted to learn more and do it all!

I found doll customization to be the most satisfying "hobby" I had ever known.  Coming from a family of seamstresses, painters, and crafters that was saying quite a bit.  But I secretly dreamed of turning that passion into my career...  Yet I didn't know how I was going to achieve that goal.

I worked full time in the mental healthcare field and attended school part time for several years before I really became serious and took the plunge into art school full time.  It was scary at first, but the techniques I learned in sculpture, painting, and graphic arts classes made all the worry worth it in the end!  I have since graduated with my degree in fine arts.

I am the proud owner and artist of Dollicious Customs, my very own doll customization business and I work full time (or more!) each week on custom dolls and cast products for dolls.  I am finally able to do what I love and I thoroughly enjoy going to work every day.

Finally, to the point of my blog!  I wanted to start this blog so I can share my knowledge with other customizers, both seasoned and novice.  I intend to review products for customs (art supplies, dolls, etc.), merchants from Etsy and other sites that I have purchased items from, and post tutorials for techniques I have learned or developed over the years.  I am really looking forward to starting this and my goal is to post at least once per week.

Until next blog, Keep Calm and Custom On!