Alphabeads

 
Sorry about these constantly retro washed photos I keep posting. I like them but I really miss the more accurate representations of my Nikon D40 which has been in the shop for a bit. But it's coming back this week and I am so thrilled I don't even know how to tell you.

I made a stop at Michael's arts and Crafts this week. The weather is getting really nice and warm here so it was a nice walk there from 96th Street. Fortunately I was able to find the letter beads on my own. I was so happy to find them quickly and then get out. I got a set of just white and one that is multi-colored for pull rings. I love them so much. I just think they're adorable. I strung Bowie's name on her pull string very simply with two hearts on either end. I'm not sure yet what I will do with the second string but I like this one just the way it is. I got to little beads shaped like roses at a bead store in mid-Manhattan for Castaneda's pull strings. I'm super excited to see what else I can add to them.

Oh BTW, it turns out I was wrong about the next NYC Blythe Meet being last weekend. It's actually this Saturday so I think I'm going to try and make it and hopefully the weather holds up and we have nice day for Cherry Blossom pictures!

HAPPY EASTER!

Hope everyone is having a Happy Easter Sunday. I woke up only about an hour or so ago because I was up until 3:00am this morning. Don't ask. I'm pretty excited that it's sunny out and not rainy like the forecast predicted. I regret that I'm not able to make to the Blythe Meet at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden today for the Cherry Blossom Festival. I can't wait to see pictures. I'm definitely going there on my own sometime in may. I was born in Brooklyn and practically raised in that Garden. It's a very dear and beautiful place for me. I'm so glad they're getting this unexpected great weather!

So! I have to admit, I'd been waiting for a bit to see what Melly Kay would do with the AA bait Blythe I made for her. And finally a few weeks ago she posted some pics of her and I nearly fell over! I was so happy to see her! Her name is JJ Evans, names after Melly's fave character on the show "Good Times!" I am so thrilled at the way she's styled her! She is so good at this! I just adore her and am so happy to see her on that side of the computer screen, all loved on and special.

In other news, my "Dawn of The Dance" Cleo De Nile arrived when I came back from Spring Break vacation last week and I jist love her! I bought her on ebay "loose", which means that she came in mint condition with all her accessories but without the box which is just fine for me because I hate untying and untwisting all the wires and stuff. She's built like Frankie Stein which is to say that for some reason she's sturdier, and her body is just a better quality of plastic. I'm not sure why that is but I'm happy about it. I love "Gloom Beach" Cleo and Clawdeen but they're so much more fragile and floppy for some reason. I don't see why they don't just make them all the same.

I've also given Casteneda some eyelashes and a set of slate grey eye chips which I think look really great on her. I'm thinking she needs one more pair before I start to close her up. I also need a replacement body for her since the spray job on her Blybe body just did not turn out well at all. Despite having a harder, smoother body that the licca or Takara bodies, her legs are still super sticky. I'm torn between getting her a pure Neemo body, which I've heard conflicting things about or just getting another Basaak Blybe and using that body. We shall see. I also have a couple of new pull rings  on the way for Castaneda and my Hollywood Blythe, Whithey. I'm excited about getting some alphabet beads so I can customize them with names and stuff because every time I look at the one Melly did for Hamsa, I'm just so inspired. I love it so much.

Well until next time, enjoy the Cadbury eggs, crazy hats, beautiful weather and whatever else you can think of today!

Spring Break

I only took a few days off for Spring Break but it was very relaxing. We went to a cozy little bed and breakfast in Hyde Park, New York that we like to go to and basically just ate our way around town which I have to say was wonderful!! I really love to eat! And everything was good. EVERYTHING! Thank God for CIA chefs! And sleeping. Sleeping is legendary!! Inn The Woods is surrounded by forest and isolation in nature really helps me to relax.

I'm expecting a couple of pairs of eye chips for Castaneda, my latest AA Blybe custom and, there's another MH gal on her way here. I swear I have a limit. I may need two more though. There's a new line coming out. And I may also have to invest in a pure Neemo flection body for the first time ever. More on that later
: )

Natural and Free!

, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

Castaneda is coming together magically but still far from over. Her body came out a bit sticky which I didn't expect at all but fortunately it's nothing remotely catastrophic so far.
I can't really describe what it feels like to watch the spirit of a doll take shape while I put her together. It's wild and thrilling and it makes me smile every time. It makes me really happy because it seems to happen with out me ultimately.
I make some choices but in the end, I'm not sure how much of it is me or just something behind the will to create and customize the doll that makes her happen. I don't think I ever really wanna know.

It's not perfect, not without it's flaws and possibility for snags but it's mine, one of a kind, made with love and curiosity, time, patience carefulness and experimentation and in that way it is very much perfect at least for me.

Castaneda Part 2

Untitled, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

This time I tried a non-reflective shade of brown by Krylon. This is my first time ever using Krylon. I really like the matte finish. Still on the fence on whether or not I should paint her lips. I was going for something pale and retro but I'm not so sure anymore. I really love the was her lips came out and I don't wanna ruin it. Tomorrow, I'll start on her body.

Castaneda

Castaneda, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

So far, although I have not begun to tackle Castaneda's eyes mech issues, I have given her a new pair of eye chips that arrived last week. i've also been carving her lips this week. I gave her little nostril holes. I really like these chips a lot more that I thought I would and have ordered another two sets that are plain.

New Monster High Doll Wear!

 I wish to God that my Nikon camera was not in the shop (sniff sniff) so that I could more accurately capture how beautiful these clothes are! They are durable, elegant, sweet and sexy and made with the perfect material for the Monster High Doll mold which is ideally something stretchy that can be slipped on to their thin limbs easily but which when on, appears to look much more complex or refined than you might find in a Target or Toys R Us.  One might gather from the thin and simple shape of MH bodies that they are easy to design and sew for, and maybe they are once you get the hang of it but I have a hunch it's probably more difficult than one might imagine. There is still one dress, not shown here that I love but have not had the time to put on the dolls yet and another pair of amazing leggings as well. Yeah, I went to bit crazy in Francine's shop the minute her mother's designs hit the etsy market. I got three dresses and two pairs of leggings. They threw in a free matching tube top for one pair of the leggings and a pair of sheath gloves/sleeves for the white dress. I was over the moon opening them last night! I hope other MH fans catch on to this shop because they really transform the whole look of MH dolls in a wonderful way and I love that kind of creativity that takes the manufactured stock fantasy of a doll (which I often like as well) and gives it a whole new life.

ARRRG!!!

ARRRG!!! a video by Zanalee on Flickr.

I cut cut the T-bar Castaneda came with too short and over gaze corrected her. So I took Tangee's and it seemed fine.
But now when I pull the string the eyes close but for some reason they don't click open. I know this is because it's a Blybe eye mech but I didn't have this problem with my first Blybe custom. Castaneda is actually kinda falling apart on me and I'm sort of losing patience, today anyway. Time to put her down for a bit and come back later.

MJ and Neige

MJ and Neige, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

A friend on flick just commented that the general mood of my photo of Neige with the afro wig reminded her of this Michael Jackson cover. I liked the discovery of this similarity so much I decided to create this diptych. Very Cute!!!
: D

Amelia the Traveling Blythe

Amelia the Traveling Blythe, a photo by hollychan2 on Flickr.

Great things happen when you roll with a Blythe. Haha!! Shortly before meeting up with Linda after work this evening, she showed me this photo she took of a woman she was on the Subway with with while she was traveling with Amelia, one of the latest Traveling Blythes. This woman was wearing the same houndstooth pattern coat.

I have always been fascinated by Linda's bravery when taking Blythe shots in public and when asking people to pose with her. I hope to one day get up the same amount of guts because shots like this are priceless.

'fro!!

'fro, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

I will definitely be using this afro on a future custom. I cannot believe I bought it at a beauty supply store just a few blocks from me! And it fits a Blythe head like it was made for her!
SO EXCITED!!!!!

GIRL PLANET'S MONSTER HIGH FASHIONS!

Photo by girlplanet

I would really like to keep all those amazing dresses to myself! LOL! But word's bound to get out on Girlplanets amazing MH couture soon. A little bird happened to tell me that the line was just posted on her etsy shop tonight. I have been waiting for MONTHSSSS!!!! Every time she posted another amazing few photos of her mother's (yes, her mom creates these) beautiful dresses, I would just drool over them and try not to nudge her too much on exactly when they would be up for grabs. And now they're here!!! Sexy, understated, elegant, exquisite, shiny, soft, delicate and fierce. I purchased the dress above and a pair of sexy "wet" leggings. Oh, I cannot wait to get more. Weeee!!!!
: D

Whitney: Renamed: 1983

Whitney: Renamed: 1983, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

So it's a long, silly story but I was smelling Whitney's hair and it smelled so good which I thought was odd beause I washed her hair with Suavitel and I don't really like that smell. But instead her hair smells like this wonderful incense I've been burning that my dad got me. I smelled it for the first time when he burned it at his place. When I asked him what it was called, he told me that a friend of his makes them and she just names them after years. This one was called 1983. I love that! I love that whole idea. The best way I can describe the smell is that it's kind of like something sweet and coconut and jasmine like. Coconut and Jasmine are two of my favorite fragrance notes. I which I could describe as easily the way it makes me feel when I smell it but I can't. It's just really familiar and homey, warm. So whenever I've smelled Whitney's today hair it makes me feel that way. So I'm renaming her: 1983, which means more to me than the name Whitney. You can call her '83 for short.