Model No. 17

Model No. 17
Originally uploaded by nevraforever

I continue to be impressed and a bit astounded as to what a great job Mattel has done on this Barbie Basics AA Ken. It took them damn near forever but they've finally designed a really good AA type mold. He's got a broad nose, full lips and not that horrible fat neck that plagued all Kens of the 80s and 90s. He looks like a guy you might see in real life. And I kind of have a crush on him. I can't wait to get him home.
LOL!!

When Frankie met Cleo

Originally uploaded by Zanalee

That's right! It's another Monster High Gal. This one is Gloom Cleo De Nile. As always I was inspired by a picture on flickr, this time by girlplanet Her work is always amazing but what she does wuth these dolls is one step further. She's actually taken all the chintzy tinsel steaks out of the hair on her Cleo and started making these amazing clothes for them with her mother. I mean like I'm counting down the days until the open the esty shop! I'm guessin The Monster High girls have a very easy frame to design for.

I went straight to Toys R Us to get my Cleo this Friday. I had to take her back though because of a factory defect. Her left hand had a ball joint but no hinge. So I exchanged her this morning before running off to another project.
 

The one that sold me by girlplanet

Her vibe is way more serious and sensual. She seem in perpetual worship of some unseen sun. It's taking some time to get used to her natural skin tone. I've come to love Frankie's alien like blue tone and her girlish charm. But there is something I do like about Cleo. She's very refined and with delicate graceful hands. Now if i can just all get the streaks out of her hair.

Mango Color

Mango Color
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

I'm not really sure when Bowie will be "finished" I keep trying new things on her face with the pastels. I did a little more darkening of her upper lids a few nights ago and some orange mixed with red on the bottom I'm not a master at this yet. Not sure how people pack such intense color with the pastels but I'm learning. I felt the orangish color was a bit much at first so I lightened it up a bit and I like it better now. I don't want her to look too much as if she's been punched in the face. LOL!!

Born to Petite Custom Blythe?

que disgusto tengo.... :-(
Originally uploaded by mimoko

I was at Kinokuniya for lunch this afternoon, the place I go to unwind from the mildly annoying to the severely depressing and flipping through issue 23 of Dolly Dolly over in the doll corner on the ground floor I saw pages of Japanese instructions on how to customize Blythe, Pullips, Momokos and Petite Blythes. Not that I have never seen customized Petite Blythes before but it had never struck me until today that I might give a try myself. I have no idea why it hadn't. I guess seeing all the steps laid out in the magazine this way made it seem more possible than before.

So now I can't wait to get home and take my first petite, Yahzhi (The "Running Deer" Blythe) apart and see what there is to see. I have a tuft of mohair left over from last year when I finished Angora's re-root that I could use for her but I don't want to start in right away on hair. I'd like to look at what I could do with her face first.

When i came back to the office, I did a flickr search for custom Petite Blythe and there is just some incredible stuff, many of my favorites are done by Mix Michi on flickr. Truly inspiring.

Coming home with me!

Coming home with me!
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

So when I go to Target in Spring Valley with my fiancee, the routine is like this. He goes grocery shopping for us and I got to the toy section. Today we went the Target in the Palisades mall and I found :Blythe Loves Littlest Pets" Petite Blythes for the first time ever. I have never seen these for sale anywhere besides ebay or amazon or somewhere on line so I was in heaven. I was alone in the isle just in awe looking at them all. Is there was not an overhead annoucement that the store was about to close in five minutes I would have been there for a while. Perhaps it was a good think it was closing. Who know what may have happened if I had more time.

I also saw a bunch of Monster High and Liv and Moxie Dolls. I've been this close to getting a Liv doll and I'm really glad I didn't because they look really different in person, not really feeling it.

It was a tough choice between "Desert Fun" and the one pictured here, "Sight Seeing Cute," but she won out because of all her awesome stock. She's got a Walkman, lacy black tights, a Brit flag t-shirt and a bad ass pleather jacket and hair clips. I've named her Lulu. She's still in her box.
EEEP!

Introducing Avalow

Straight outta the box

 Things have been really crazy in my life recently so while I was really happy to pick up my Vintage Vinyl Gavin at work yesterday, I wasn't really able to enjoy her the way I had hoped. There's way too much going on. I brought her home, opened the box and was not initially wowed by her. In fact, I almost thought I had made a mistake. I took one photo of her, put her back in her box, tied her in and decided to check on her in the morning. But after looking at that picture I was sold. After a few Hipstamatic shots I was in love.

I mean first off, she's a redhead. Have I mentioned that I adore red hair? So big points for that. Second, her pivotal body is interestingly different from Reese's body. Her joints at the hips and knees limit her in some movements and allow for more movement in others. She's also just a bit taller than my other Integrity dolls. I wish her eyes were green instead of blue and the pink lips are a bit much for me but otherwise I adore her. I got her nude on ebay so she wasn't too expensive. I'd been eying her for quite some time now on flickr and decided I'd better grab this one while I could. She's actually my very first Caucasion Integrity doll. I haven't been very impressed with many of them but Gavin's got something special. I named her Avalow, pronounced Av-a-lao, after a completely insignificant character in one of my favorite bad movies of all time, Zardoz.

Lil Miss Vixen

Also, there is word that Mattel is coming out with fully articulated line of the Barbie Basics dolls. You don't understand! I was literally bidding on Black Barbie Basics Ken when Lil Miss Vixen commented on a photo of hers showing articulated barbie Basics dolls that this line would be coming out. It is not yet known which Barbie Basics dolls they will be articulating but I am praying they will doing it for that Black Ken because I adore his mold and my only regret about the first line is that they're too stiff, holding that one pose, kind of like the Model Muse molds. I don't want my fist Black Ken to be so stiff. He's too hot for that! LOL!!

Mango Soul

Mango Bowie

 I'm not sure exactly when it happens but at some point when I'm customizing a doll, it starts to become more than just a doll. I mean somehow, it begins to take on a magic of it's own, begins to have a life seemingly independent of any intent I had in creating it. I'm watching this happen lately with Mango Bowie.  I have to be honest that although I find the Simply Mango scalp deliciously adorable I wasn't sure how my Prima Aubrey Dolly, Sabine would transition into this hybrid form. At first it was cute, then a little annoying but then after I worked on her lip carving a bit more and sanded off a lot of the darker hooker like make-up from her eyes (LOL!) something else started to happen. She's just looking more soulful and less superficial.

My second AA Blybe Custom

In other news, I'm hoping I can make something happen with the Blybe face plates I sprayed this weekend although I can see it's going to be a real challenge since her head does not fit on either a Licca, or a Takara body.  I want her to have short flocked hair like Suedehead's beautiful Pepita but in a burgundy or reddish color. So pending finding her a compatible body donor, here we go!
: D

Suedehead's Pepita

ANTICIPATION!!!

Originally uploaded by Zanalee

Umm... I'm gonna see him again in a week. I count the minutes until that night. It's making me giddy as heck!

Bowie Face-up Redux

Originally uploaded by Zanalee

I sanded off Bowie's old lip color and worked on her lips a bit more last night. i think I've changed my mind and want to use much paler colors for face this time. I was going yo be a bit more ambitious with her face coloring initially but I'm not sure yet that I have the skill or patience I need yet. There's always time to change my mind though. I feel that Bowie is still evolving and I just want to watch and see what finally feels right as I continue to work on her.

New Tools

I don't have any human resolutions for the New Year just some doll ones. Heehee!

Angora and Tweety

1. I have to stop buying so much stuff and start producing some which means thinking more seriously about creating a pattern for "Heartfelt" dresses, and maybe learning to sew? I mean I have a little machine. Yes, I totally impulsively bought a little yellow sewing machine at Urban Outfitters a week ago out of no where. It was so cute! I couldn't not buy it!

2. I need some new tools for costumizing. I need a new diamond file for lip carving, sand sponges and I've been thinking about getting a can of MSC (Mr. Super Clear) for the first time. I've never used it before but it's supposed to seal in makeup or pastels and any application of makeup or paint work done on the dolls face.

3. I need to finish my pending dolly projects, the thermal changing saran re-root for my ADG, Emily. I need to do some thing with that Blybe I got months ago, I need to get her a new body but I just have not been motivated to do anything with her and I think this may have to do with the challenging experience I had getting all her screws from the seller. It really was the worst dolly transaction I've ever had and it just left me feeling weird when I finally got her. I have not felt anything for her really which is sad, but I know if I could just do something with her, I might be able to transform her into something completely different. I mean I have to try, otherwise the whole thing would have been a total waste. That would be a shame.

I have another petite Blythe on the way, thanks to one of Erica Duh's  adorable pic of one of the Littlest Pets Petites,"Desert Sun." These guys are really affordable though so it wasn't really a burden on my budget. I still deeply lust after a Goldie but that is such a total dream. I can never justify spending that much money on a doll but I continue to adore the heck out of the girl! I mean if was ever lucky enough, my poor Blythes would be green with envy for months.

Then there's Blythecon 2011 on June! I'm excited and freaked out by it at the same time. Dude! It's a plane ride! And possibly a hotel stay! And I just know it will be amazing! I have already pre-registered ages ago,  but ticket prices to Portland, Oregon are definitely too expensive so I guess I'm hoping that part of my tax return this year will be enough. But I also need to invest in some other really important things in my life as well so here's hoping that tickets sales will go down in June so I don't have to contribute too much of my precious tax money. God! Blythecon 2011 is going to be insaaaaaaane!!!
EEE!!! So there you have it for now. Let's get it started!