Small Closet Clean Out Sale

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As promised, I have posted a small clean out sale of Blythe Gear in my collection to the "Sundries section" in the Blythe Kingdom forum.

Commisions on the way

Why I am commissioning dolly things when I have no money, I don't know. Perhaps it is because I'm so tight and it's so depressing that I need something to look forward to and nothing makes me happier than having dolly things made special for me. A vicious cycle, yes. And to make up for it, I will be having a Blythe Kingdom lot sale to get rid of some of the dolly clothes I have accumulated over the years. I will keep you posted but I'm pretty sure it will be up by this weekend.

The first commission on it's way is a set of two sweaters for my petites made by Mari aka Suedehead. I just love her knit dresses for full size Blythes. I have two and they are among my absolute favorite things. Her knit wear for petite Blythe is just unbelievable. I will never stop being amazed by tiny garments with so much detail. Her and Care aka Obsessively Stitching are just masters at this.

Wee knitwear from Suedehead

So I selected the yarn colors Mar had available and commissioned the pink hoody which is one I've seen and loved and wanted for a full sized Blythe for a while as well. I love the Orla Kiely leaf pattern and asked for that to be knit in the front of the turtle neck. I think it came out wonderful and I can't wait to see it!

I was also able to pin down the very talented and very busy Melacacia to commission a pair of her hauntingly beautiful Blythe Doll eye chips. I have admired them and her amazing Customs Blythe dolls for quite some time and since I will never be able to afford one of her dolls, I figured I might at least get a pair of her eye chips for the next Blythe doll I am able to custom.

I also happened upon these adorable sweater shirts made by Mari Batistello while surfing flickr a week ago and commissioned one of those as well.

Monster High, Operetta

Operetta, a photo by WhiteNoise_85 on Flickr.

Ahem!
So guess I'm not done with Monster High after all. I just couldn't resist this lady! Her design is just so sick! She's got a kind of 40s Bobby Soxer glamour I'm a sucker for fused with this romantic, goth-like phantom of the opera look. And of course the fire red hair. I'm a redhead junkie.

She's also got tattoos and an embedded opera score on one side of her body. It's a little creepy. Me likey! LOL!!
I can't wait to see her up close!

A very Blythe lunch hour

A very Blythe lunch hour #blythe, a photo by brooklynpablita on Flickr.

Had a mini meet Blythe Lunch with Paula this afternoon. It had to be one of the brightest spots of this dreary grey Monday.

The Blythe Collection Guide Book which she ordered from Kinokuniya just arrived and we looked at it a bit while we ate and talked about work and the nuances of our Blythe addiction. LOL! I only saw a few pages but it looks amazing! I'm thinking of ordering a copy myself but I'm not sure when.

Her HS Ama (first from the left) just got that beautiful new dress she's wearing from Morganours of Tomate Cerise and a hat from Blythe Warmers aka me! Doesn't she look just lovely? At her side are Bowie and Hendrix who I brought along with me. We also remarked on how well coordinated our girls are when they meet up. Paula took this photo of them in the bookstore cafe and it just captures their chemistry and cheery colorful outfits so beautifully!

Bee Girl!

Monster High Bee Insect is here! As part of the Create a Monster Accessory pack however, the rest of her unfortunately will not arrive until later.  LOL!

These bee glasses are a huge hit. I want a pair for myself!

Aria tries on the fly shades for size

Blythe Doll sighting on NYC2.0!!

Blythe Doll sighting on NYC2.0!!, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

So one of my co-workers who also knits told me about this absolutely fascinating sounding episode of NYC 2.0 a show that comes on the NYCTV channel which I love that came on about a week or two ago. She couldn't remember the name of the show at the time but recalled it this morning and called to tell me. I looked it up on line, found it and had been watching, completely enthralled for the last 20 minutes and then O saw this!! A Blythe doll in the art studio of a woman named Becky! WAHH!! I love it!!! This particular episode is about how artists use and apply cutting edge technology to create innovative projects. It's really amazing. Check it out!
www.nyc.gov/html/nycmg/nyctvod/html/home/nyc2105.html

Moss Green Puff Stitch Hat

Moss Green Puff Stitch Hat, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

Now available at Blythe Warmers.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/zanalee1

Blythe Warmers Update!

Smurf Blue and Ginger just added.

Drop on by!

Castaneda's Unfortunate Return

Well, I've know n about this for a while, but didn't want to write about it until she was safely back in my possession.

On New Years Eve I received a message on ebay that the buyer was not happy with Castaneda and wanted an issue refunded. To be honest, she perfectly good reason. This was the first custom doll I have ever attempted to market and I'm afraid I could have done a better job at describing her.
The fact that the hair under the wig was not sufficient enough to keep the wig in place (although it was in the description that this was a wig) as well as a few places on the body where paint had chipped or where there was no paint were mostly what concerned her. I admit I wasn't really sure how or if I should describe all of these things when I was writing the description for Castaneda on ebay. I wasn't even sure if I should describe her as "new" or not because I had spent so many months working on her. It certainly was not a great start to my New Year but I had to chalk it up to a lesson learned for next time and not let it completely depress me.

Castaneda's Scalp

I won't stop making AA dolls. I just love doing it too much. But next time I will be sure to provide detailed photos of what the doll looks like as well as detailed written descriptions. I'm actually quite glad to have Castaneda back. I didn't want her to be with someone who didn't love her.

More info on what Castaneda's next move will be shortly.

Helmets and ear flaps

Purple Puff Earflaps and Green Puff Stitch Helmet

I started experimenting this week with making helmet hats and a hats with ear flaps. I made two on Tuesday night, one with the purple Brushed Suri and the other with a mixed green yarn. I'm thinking of making a few more this weekend. I was at the Yarn Company yesterday and noticed that they had gotten in a shipment of more colors of Brushed Suri Alpaca of which I am now apparently addicted. I think I need a yarn budget. These yarns are not cheap but I cannot help myself. I need at least three or for more skeins. I just love working with it so much. Like I've said, Brushed Suri is just like a cloud spun into string. It's unbelievably light and soft and so easy to work with.

Chemisty Test: Zanadu and Malcolm

 

I did a little impromptu shoot with my AA Pop Life Barbie, Zanadu and Malcolm this weekend using a black and white filter from Instagram. I don't shoot Malcolm a whole bunch but when I do I'm always impressed by him in spite of his sort of one note range of expression. Of course light, shadow and strategic tilt shifts in the right places help as well.

NYC Blythe Meet 2012

Flo, Fabian, Beautiful blue haired girl, Middie Blythe, Felix, Moof and Whitney, Cutie AA Blythe, Poppy, Ama, Group Shot, Group shot close up, Hamsa making  a friend, Joplin, Group close up, Mimi

This weekend's NYC Blythe Meet was at Cowgirl NYC on Hudson and West 10th Street. I was delighted to be able to sit with Linda and Paula, two women I know and love near the window at this lively little hipster location. I met Linda for the first time ever at a Blythe meet and it is wonderful ti see her every time. Paula and have already had a few dolly lunch meets together in midtown and Brooklyn and but this was her first massive meet and I was so happy and excited that she could make it!

Apparently people arrived on time as our table were packed on arrival! Some people came from as far away as Baltimore! I love it! Michael, AKA Maw Photo on flickr, joined us at out table as well. Interestingly enough he didn't bring any dolls but had a great time chatting with us about his amazing miniature diorama work, about photo apps, about Blythe and about the city.While all this was happening and food began to arrive Linda would occasionally hand me beautiful dolls to photograph from across the table. I had also made online requests to see Mel's Fabian and Erica Duh's Flo and Toast and I loved seeing them all! I sooo need to do another mohair reroot! I just l love mohair girls so much but these in particular just steal my heart

Mel's Fabian and me at Cowgirl NYC

Paula's Una Moof

I also loved spending time with Paula's Moof Doll who I have loved seeing in her photostream. I had never seen one up close and I just really like her lot. I'm a big haired redhead fanatic which is part of it but there is something else about her as well. Like Blythe she seems to be in and of her own world, very self contained but perhaps not as snarky or opinionated. Hahaha! I need to do more research on these dolls.

Paula's girls Felix and Ama were there as well. Moz was absent but I didn't get the chance to ask why. I myself wanted to keep the number of Blythes I bought down to about four or five. I ended up going with four; Hamsa, Hendrix, Vida and Whitney. I regret that they didn't get to mingle as much as I would have liked but I just became so totally immersed in photographing  many of the old and new faces...of dolls! LOL!!

Linda's Holly Rosey and Ivy were there and I love this shot she took of Hamsa and Holly together. I love Punkaholics. They just make me smile so much!

66 in all!!

I was just writing Linda on flickr that this was the first time I had stuck around for the large Blythe doll group shot and it was just so elating!! All the waves of uniqueness and personality staring back at us from the collective bunch was quite powerful and intoxicating. I really could spend hours just taking pictures of all them, rearranging them and playing with them.

On my way out of the restaurant, a woman who was waiting at the front for the table asked me what this whole doll thing was about. It's always interesting attending these meets at restaurants because people around us, including the waitstaff naturally have some very varied reactions to our dolly shenanigans. I'm usually so preoccupied in the bubble of our world that I don't notice unless I break away for the restroom and then it's like, oh yeah, there are other people here. We usually take up about four or five  large tables so we are quite a noisy bunch.

I nervously tried to give the inquiring lady a brief overview about what Blythe is and she seemed genuinely engaged the whole time. I also told her to Google Blythe. I guarantee you she will become addicted. I guarantee it!
: D

66 Blythes

66, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

Just let this sink in a little bit.
...I'll get back to you later on with more.
: D

AA Pop Life Barbie

Untitled, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

When I first saw AA Pop Life Barbie, I was amazed by her retro vintage look. I thought she was going to be really expensive but she's not. I don't really care about doll stock outfits so I got her nude for like 24 bucks on ebay.

She arrived at work yesterday and I have to admit it was not a good day for me at all. I was pretty down and almost didn't wan to open her when I got home. But I did. I needed a pick me up and I was instantly charmed by her.

She has a is a very light, hollow pivotal body which explains the low price but it's designed to really emphasize her very 70s long limbed body. I think she is a reproduction of an original vintage AA Barbie.

She has rooted eye lashes which I adore painted nails and a big white bauble ring which I may have to crazy glue to her right hand because it comes out occasionally on it's own which if why it's not seen in the photo I took above.

I'm still thinking of a name for her. Something short and cool and sophisticated.

For the Love of Blythe!

Please take a moment to check out the blog for this new Blythe, "For The Love of Blythe" being brought to life by fanny Zara of Mademoiselle Blythe,  and company. It is so exciting and just sounds so amazing, I cannot wait to watch it unfold!

Below, I have copied and pasted a paragraph of the introduction, which I really love.

The basis for the project is to showcase the talent within the Blythe community, coming together for one big project to make friends, have fun, and do something outside of ourselves to help others in some way. We think the Blythe community as a whole has a big heart. There are lots of really talented, interesting and generous people, who all love Blythe. We think that Blythe is more than just a doll or a child’s toy. She has a life of her own which, remarkably, seems to bring people together from all walks of life, who want to have fun, see beauty in the world and want to share it. We would like to bring that notion to the forefront and give back in some small way. Each of the 7 dolls will be auctioned to charity at the end of the project.

The line of Blythe doll designers is so kick ass, it's ridiculous! This is going to be soooo good!!!

New Button Arcade Commssion on it's Way!

Since Button Arcade is no longer posting shop dresses on Flickr as they are made I had to hop on her commission list a few months ago just so I could get one more dress. My name came up just before New Years and she contacted me so that I could let her know what fabric I wanted and what kind of pockets. I adore her monster dresses  and at first said I wanted another but then decided to go with the pull ring pockets instead on this beautiful "Peace" design fabric. She just emailed me the photo today. I LOVE IT!!! I also bought one of Hilary Wagstaffs "Spirit of '72" pieces, a very cool orange butterfly collar blouse with polka dots. It's been a while since I got some Moshi Moshi and I couldn't resist this ode to the 70s. I'm a 70s baby! 75 not 72. LOL!!
Weeee!!! I love anticipating Dolly Mail!

NYC BLYTHE MEET THIS SATURDAY!

Important info for those coming to Saturday's meet, a photo by cybermelli on Flickr.

YAAAY!! This was originally scheduled to happen at the Museum of Natural History which I was not down for because of the cold and crowds but it has been rescheduled and will now be meeting at Cowgirl NYC, a place I've never been to but which sounds nice enough.

I'm really excited to see a few people I know and love as well as meet some new people I've only communicated with on flickr and of course to see everyone's incredible dolls! Seeing Mellisa's collection alone is a wonder in itself! I can't wait to see Fabian! I took photos of her at the BBG meet at the Cherry Blossom Festival last Spring but she's even more amazing now since being worked on by Gbaby.

I also look forward to seeing Erica Duh's Toast and Flo as well as Paula's girls, Felix, Ama and Moz. I'd also love to see her moof doll who I've been adoring in her Instagram pics for weeks now. And of course I can't wait to see Linda and her girls, Holly, Rosy and Ivy.

As always, I will report back here next week with photos and comments.