Coming up Roses

Here's a fun hat I made yesterday for a friend and her Blythe dolls. It's a charcoal colored wool felt with a giant black grosgrain ribbon made into an accordian pleat at the front and topped off with a matching charcoal gray leaf and a hand-rolled silk velvet rose. I am quite happy with how it turned out. I was having fun with the pictures and thought I'd share.

Heart Shaped World

I just love the colors pink and red. They remind me of love and hearts and all that good stuff. Sweet things, too. Chocolate covered cherries - love em! Little pink cupcakes - love em!



I just finished these 2 fun little sets for a couple of friends who have joined me in helping with something I had been thinking of. Both outfits are pretty much the same, but one is pink and one is red. They have a hand-dyed crushed velvet bodice, with silk underskirts and a tulle overskirt. Both comes with funny wool felt hats and a pouf. I also made them crushed velvet carpet bags, but forgot to put them in the photos, so they will be a surprise.



My 2 dolls, Little Jeany and Ivy, are having fun wearing the costumes and will be sad to see them go. I think they look really cute in these. I love this funny little doll stuff. Just keeps me so amused. Hope you are having a great day!

Oh, Little Jeany

My friend Jeany from Canada sent me this great gift a few months back. I've shown her here before, in fact in the last post, but she looked quite a bit different then. She's a Blythe Simply Guava, that I named Little Jeany. I am quite crazy for the fantasy hair colors that some of my Blythes have. I have both a Simply Peppermint, with pale mint colored hair, and a Simply Mango with mango colored hair. Guava has hot pink hair and to me, it is a really fun color to work with. This past weekend, since it was windy outside and I wasn't feeling like going out that much, I spent some time customizing Little Jeany and gave her a whole new look.



I am really having fun with these dolls. When I finish one, I immediately want to customize another. My couple of semi-stock dolls are shivering in their shoes worrying that they will be next to go under the knife. If I had a drawer full of Blythes, I think I could spend every day just carving them up and doing their makeup. It's really quite satisfying.



I decided I didn't want to give her colors for her makeup that would match her hair. Instead I chose brown and rust tones, which is different than maybe most people would choose, but I think it works for her. I carved her lips quite heavily and painted them in a few shades, but didn't gloss them. I gave her 2 sets of Coolcat eye chips for her side-facing sets, one sort of a gold and one a nice light brown. I also put in a set of Ana Karina handpainted chips that are a lovely green, and another set of Zaola handpainted chips, which are a beautiful blue, for her front facing sets. I think she is now quite a unique doll. Or at least she looks different than she did. I haven't seen one exactly like her. Funny how one doll can look so different with just a little bit of change. Fascinates me.



Hope you are well and have adjusted to the time change if you had it. We have been having some days in the 50s, which is unseasonably warm for this time of year here in Vermont. I am counting on an unseasonably warm winter in general, but chances are, I will be disappointed :)

Fascinating Blythe

I think I have finally kicked some of my creative slump. Here are some fascinator hats I did up for Blythe. I think she looks fantastic. These hats will fit other dolls, but if you are a Blythe fan, there is no other doll that is quite as fun, funny or fashionable as the big headed, big eyed queen.



I think Blythe is pretty much my doll focus these days. I really can't resist, to be honest. Somehow I have acquired 7 Blythes. All but 1 is customized to some degree by me. My 1 stock doll (though she may not stay that way long) is a Guava given to me by my friend, Jeany, in Canada. What a cool gift! I was so stoked to receive it, I can't tell you. I am just finishing up a mohair root for Jeany this week. I figure it's the least I could do.



I have a couple of Blythe projects on the table that I am thinking about. My good friend, Amy Taylor, jeweler extraordinaire, is collaborating with me on what I hope might be a series of OOAK Blythe customs. I think we'll concentrate on 1 first and see how we do. There is no one who can do jools like Amy, so I think whatever we come up with is bound to be quite smashing. Between the 2 of us, we ought to be able to do everything ourselves outside of manufacturing the actual doll.



I hope you doll people are having a lovely fall. It is bordering on winter here in Vermont, and we have already had one day of snow! I can hardly feel ready for that, but it's the way it is here. Gives me an excuse to stay inside and play with dolls, I suppose. Hope you all are enjoying playing with dolls and finding fun ways to express yourselves. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of creative people out there. I am sure you are one of them. Enjoy!