I finally got around to making my MGA Mini Verse Make It Mini Sneakers; Doodle Crew Red and Kawaii Pink shoes. I got these to see if they would work on my MYou Bettina male, mature tiny BJD (28cm in heigth, representing a 19-year-old college student).
They work rather well. I f-ed up on the soles. Which is the one job one has, for this build. The other parts are threading the laces and sticking the stickers. Which, I don't hate, but they are stickers! I like the ones that look like fabric on the Doodle Crew Red ones, because they stick so well. The others were my favorite, despite not loving pink shoes, because of how puffy they are. However, they are already starting to peel, all by themselves. *sigh*
I guess I can always try regluing those, as they start to age badly. The Doodle Crew stickers, I fear might age worse. Because it seems like an actual fabric piece, that is starting to fray at the edges. It might be user error, but both my soles ended up being lopsided. As much as I tried to keep both shoe tops leveled, they ended up super skewed on any side! I also can't say why I thought these were UV resin, but they are two-part gel soles. So, I just waited to get an UV light, for basically no reason. I can use it with my other MIM kits, but I had no reason to hold making these. I feel like I wasted so much time for nothing.
My last thoughts on these are, they way too expensive at retail for what they are. I would purchase more if I could get them on sale again -- I got these during the holiday sales last year, so they were a bargain purchase for me. I would still love to get the Happy Sun Creamery ones, or any low-tops. These weren't a real struggle to put on my Bettina, but they kind of are annoying in a way. I recommend anyone trying them on their mature tiny BJD, not to tighten the shoelaces too much, because they are hard plastic, and the feet won't go in (or come out) smoothly if they are too right. Particularly, if you want your doll to wear socks with these. Which I am kind of stuck with, because I don't want to redo his body blushing anytime soon. Otherwise, these are super cute, but if I didn't need shoes of any kind for this dude, I would probably not have gotten them at all. Although, they might also work for Ken, and perhaps 1:6 action figure females. I don't really need shoes for those. (;
i made it with fabric and fabric glue and elastic !!! i did some sewing to keep the elastics in there tight !! plus it give kind of cute design :)
I def want to make more!!
Im also thinking abt setting up like a Kofi shop? to sell my little crafts I do??? the masks would be there i could probs send them in an envelope to say money? idk!!!! idkidk! i just want to share my art with ppl
I'll be honest, I mostly grabbed this book because the cover is pretty. I also thought it might be interesting to learn about haunted dolls and maybe a bit more about poppets. Let's get into it!
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Contents:
Synopsis
What I Liked
What I Didn't Like
Overall Thoughts
Conclusion
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Published 2025
"With extensive knowledge and first-hand experience, Patti Negri brings you into the world of haunted dolls and poppets. In addition to answering frequently asked questions, such as where haunted dolls come from and how to protect yourself from dangerous ones, Patti presents the ins and outs of poppets. Explore different kinds of poppets--classic, biodegradable, food-based, and crafty--and use a variety of spells and recipes for them. Discover how to invite a spirit into your doll, choose poppet ingredients based on your goals, host a Haunted Doll Tea Party, and much more.
As Robert the Doll's dolltender David L. Sloan attests, 'This is an essential manual for anyone venturing into the world of haunted dolls.'"
-from the back of the book
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What I Liked
An idea that struck me almost right away was that you could use dolls as spirit homes/vessels. Patti Negri has a ritual for calling a spirit into a doll that isn't already haunted, so this could be a fun, inconspicuous way to have a spirit house. Negri is also pushes the idea of the spirit consenting to live within the doll and also stay with you. Which is good to take into consideration what the spirit wants out of the partnership or if it wants a partnership at all.
Negri does a wonderful job of giving out a warning about using essential oils around animals and also needing to dilute them before their use. Essential oils are the volatile oils of plants concentrated down, so they can cause skin irritations at best if not diluted, and animals are especially sensitive to them.
During the section on poppets, Negri gives some good advice on collecting grave dirt. Some of it is the same as you might find elsewhere but still good to have for those who have never seen them before.
Negri is also gives advice on different disposals of poppets that are appropriate for each spell. A lot of people shy away from poppets simply because they don't know what to do with it afterwards, so this is very helpful for those people.
The last part of the book has lots of different ways to make poppets. Some are more modern versions than others which gives lots of choice. Mostly these are good for those who haven't heard much about the practice, but there are definitely more forms of poppet making than what is seen in the book. Especially in folk traditions.
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What I Didn't Like
Patti Negri is a psychic who has appeared on several of Zak Bagans' shows. I can't stand that man. She mentions him several times in cases where she has had him care for dolls in his museum or otherwise when working with spirits, and I was worried she would be using him as an example of how to deal with spirits. Luckily this did not happen, so I merely had the (dis)pleasure of being annoyed with his presence within the book.
One thing that put me off about the haunted doll section was how it seems to unintentionally treat spirits as if they are collectables. This comes through when talking about how to acquire an already haunted doll, and talks about trading them. This isn't a Pikachu in the latest Pokemon game, this is an autonomous being. Other than these instances that kind of pile on each other, the book tries to emphasize respect for the spirits but it also comes off as hypocritical.
Negri also uses terms like "high vibration" and "low vibration" when talking about spirits. These terms are a little too new agey for me, especially when talking about spirits. It's just another one of those ideas that New Thought took from Buddhism and Hinduism and people ran with without really understanding the actual context of it's use. A related instance of this happens later on in the book when Negri talks about Crystals and opening the "third eye." Bastardization of chakras at work.
At one point in the book, when talking about protecting yourself from harmful spirits, Negri acts like banishing is beyond a beginners skill set. I would argue that banishing is one of the things beginners should be learning. Especially if they want to work with spirits. It's part of the big three of Cleansing, Banishing, and Protecting. In that order! She will often say things like "get someone with more experience" whether it's dealing with spellwork or spirits.
Negri also recommends the use of Palo Santo. This comes from a tree that has some conservation concerns though it was taken off the critically endangered list in 2014 (after being added in 2006). Until the industry has been overhauled extensively, I would stay away from this plant if it's not one that grows naturally near you (so Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, etc.).
Negri also says you should cleanse your spell materials to neutralize them. As I've said before in previous book reviews, I don't see the point in this as I gather my materials because of the spirits/energies that reside within them. So why would I want to neutralize that? This is just something that's different about the way we practice.
She also uses the term familiar to refer to pets which is a pet peeve of mine. Pets are not your familiars, as you took on the responsibility to care for them and live animals cannot fulfill the purpose of a familiar. Familiars are spirits with which you have entered a working contract.
Another pet peeve of mine is that when she talks about plants she gets the story of Aphrodite creating the anemone wrong. She says it's the rose that came out of this put that's a different but related myth. I've linked my posts on these plants within this paragraph with the corresponding plant.
Speaking of plants she claims that Calendula and Marigolds are the same plants but they are, in fact, barely related. Really the main thing they have in common is their color, which is orange. You can find more information about their differences here. This is important because it does affect the way they are used in magic, in my opinion. It also matters if you're planning on using them for their medicinal properties.
Lastly, Negri makes an off hand comment about following the, from what I know, misunderstood version of the three fold law. She says in magic whatever you do comes back to you three times. I have not found this to be true, myself. I also find it kind of annoying just because of how much certain people push it on the internet to complete strangers.
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Overall Thoughts
This book has an early 2000s eclectic Wicca feel. Unfortunately, it was not in a nostalgic way but in a needs to come back down to earth a little bit way. The book itself felt like it wanted to be two different things. I could tell in the poppet section that Negri was trying to tie the two together by mentioning "unlike haunted dolls" now and then. I think that maybe this book would have done better to be on one topic or the other instead of smashing the two together. It almost feels like Negri wanted to write a book on haunted dolls but didn't have enough material to fill out an entire book, so then it became mostly poppets.
It's hard to say whether I recommend this book or not. If it had been on one or the other I could say well if you wanted to learn about this then it might get you started, but if you don't want to learn about one part of the book I don't really think it's worth it to get. The poppet information is very basic, you could easily find the same information on line. The majority of that section was chapters of correspondence lists anyway.
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Conclusion
If you still want to read this book then you can find it on Amazon, Llewellyn (it's publisher), Gibson's Bookstore, and potentially your local metaphysical/witchcraft store.
Happy Saturday! Chloe has just seen the new hardwood floor and she loves It. There's a new tutorial on my blog if you would like to check It out *link in bi* #barbie #barbiedoll #barbiefashionista #rebodiedbarbie #dollcraft #myfroggystufffanpics #dolldiorama #dollhouse #dollhouseminiatures #dollhousedecor #dollphotographer #dollphoto #barbiephotography #barbiephoto #dollgram #dollstagrammer #adultdollcollector https://www.instagram.com/p/CUzooGjAGUX/?utm_medium=tumblr
LOOK HOW FABULOUS THIS IS! Asked my hubby if he could make something like the last photo out of an embroidery frame and he did! 😱😱😱 doesn’t it look amazing! Matti looks so chilled and perfect in it but I need to make some cushions for it 😃 #bjd#bjds#hoopseat #bjdsofinstagram #bjdstagram #dollswing#bjdswing#dollcraft (at Birmingham, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBbAkxZp57e/?igshid=s0onafev9nhf
