Time for GIRLY MAKE-OVERS !

I want to give my girls all little make-overs.  Nothing drastic, mainly because if I did everything I wanted to do, times 10 GIRLS, well, I don't have that kind of money!  And if I did, wouldn't I be buying REAL BLYTHE dolls, instead of clones?  I don't know though, the more I look at my little clones, the more I LOVE THEM!

CIRCLE OF CLONES:  Clockwise from PINK HAIR:  Blybe, LBE, LBE, LBE, CCE (Brunette)

What can be done with little to no expense? 

Hair cuts/ trims.  Boil perms for curls and/or waves.  I could try getting the shine off the faces, and if I do that, then I would have to put "some" color back into their cheeks, lips, etc.  I have to admit that I do NOT like the HUGE NOSE on the LBE dolls, and so, it wouldn't be necessarily expensive to change the noses, or maybe even the lips too ?  I don't have the funds to change out their bodies, so I am "stuck" with those, but I can make them have individual fingers, and I CAN carve their huge flat feet, so they can fit into smaller footwear.  Not to mention ALL my Barbie and other doll clothes, items I have in my possession, from the early 90's until now. 

When my niece was growing up, she spent a lot of time over at my house, and I purchased a ton of doll stuff for her to play with, and I still have that in storage as well.  At the same time, I was making Barbie Displays at work, so as far as any photo shoots, I am curious to see what stuff I actually have saved ...

I begin all projects with ... A GRID.

I listed all my girls;  their hair colors;  their existing eye chips, and began to plot out what changes were possible for me to make, with my limited funds, and limited expertise.  Sure SOUNDS easy enough ... !

Where to start ... WHERE to start .....? ? ?

Introducing: NENETL NENETL; my VERY FIRST REAL BLYTHE DOLL!

Thanks to Patty in New Jersey, the one whom I adopted the Little Big Eyes dolls "4 sisters" from, who inspired me SO MUCH to TRY and find a "reasonably priced" real Blythe ...

I found her on the auction site ... for only $125. !  I thought that was pretty reasonable.  First of all, she was never played with and still in her original box.  Then, she was in the U.S., so I didn't have to stress about package delivery, overseas customs, or just plain items getting lost in transit (and if you are a seller on any auction site, you KNOW the issues that can occur!)

She is an ADG;  Ashton Drake Galleries edition of AZTEC ARRIVAL.  Apparently, that is the name of one of the ORIGINAL KENNER Blythe dolls, and Ashton Drake Galleries made some reproduction models of those original designs, keeping the same names.

Sellers photo of AZTEC ARRIVAL for adoption;  Ashton Drake Galleries edition

Another reason I was attracted to THIS doll, is her title:  In high school, prior to all the uproar regarding ethnic mascot names ... our mascot was AZTECS.  I was even in the Drill Team, and our parade costumes included a massive headdress, complete with Turquoise, black and white feathers!

THAT'S ME ... on the left :)

Okay, so BACK to HOW SHE GOT HER NAME:

I immediately went on-line to do a little research, and discovered an entire webiste (probably these are even more of these ... ) dedicated to the RIGHTFUL name of "Aztecs".  In a nutshell, the name/ title of "Aztec" is some sort of insult;  a name conjured up by Europeans. 

Here are the direct quote(s) from their site:

"Aztec" is a name conjured up by Europeans. 
We never called ourselves Aztecs. The Spaniards never called us Aztecs.

Our name is Mexica (Meh-sheeh-kah).

Aztec refers to our people when they lived in Aztlan. In Aztlan it would have been right to have used that word. But in the 16th century, "Aztec" was a word that was no longer used because all the people who came from Aztlan now called themselves Mexica, Tlaxcallan, Texcoco, Tlacopan, or any other of the names of the cities in which they lived. 


Please read the history below so that you will have a good understanding of the Nahuatl names you will be choosing for yourself or for your child. 

a) A ONE WORD NAME, no surname. You would use it twice in order to satisfy European occuppier legal requirements (Mazatl Mazatl or Tochtli Tochtli).

IT IS the tradition for their children to be named with the SAME FIRST AND LAST NAME !

Nahuatl Pronunciation:    How to pronounce words in Nahuatl:

TL: at the end of a word should just pronounce the T---the L should be silent.

So, after all that … I chose:  NENETL NENETL.  Which is pronounced “Nenet” … which means …

DOLL !  I think that is TOTALLY COOL !!!

NENETL NENETL
This is poooooor little factory Blythe, straight out of the box.
Her hair is a beautiful bronze/copper/red color, but the style is quite hideous.
Her FACE IS GREEN (apparently, a known issue with ADG girls).
Her eyeshadow is ALSO a hideous GREEN color.
And to add insult to injury, Ashton Drake decided to add
THE MOST HIDEOUS LIP COLOR to this poor girl!
Did they REALLY think that the PUKE-ISH, PINKY-PURPLE-MAUVY tone went well
with her GREEN TINTED COMPLEXTION and her GREEN EYE SHADOW
and her RED/COPPER HAIR?????
That is not even mentioning her STOCK eye chip colors, yikes.  PINK?  ORANGE?  REALLY????

However, as I am not a customizer ... and I MAINLY have her to model my CROCHET FASHIONS ... I am not sure how much I can do, that will cost little to no money, and require little to no skill ... but can change the MOST glaringly obvious "un-desireble" traits they gave her.

Another note here:  In all my extensive research, I have noticed and read where a doll owner will put her girl up for adoption, for the reason of "not bonding".  I guess it may be because I am of a possessive nature, being a "moon child" and cancer crab (we hold on tight with our little crab claws, and would rather the item break off in our claw, than to let go!  true fact. ) ... but, I could NEVER, EVER give away ANY doll that was once "mine".  (exception: if she was purchased for the reason of re-sale, remained in her box, kept in storage and I never took her out.)

Introducing: MOLLY MARINE; Little Big Eyes doll

MOLLY MARINE is one of the "4 sisters" from Patty in New Jersey.  I call her my GRAPE HAIRED GIRL. 

MOLLY MARINE in her STOCK green eye chips

Having a GRAPE / PURPLE hair doll can be, and is, a "challenge".  I don't think it is a very flattering shade for a healthy looking complexion.  Also, it is EXTREMELY difficult to photograph in natural light.  Flash seems to pick up the true color a bit, but in natural light, it looks BLUE!

Also, she is my 2nd grape hair doll ... so we shall SEE what I can come up with to individualize these precious girls :)

MOLLY MONIQUEE MARINE
This is the sellers picture;  her name was JENNA from Jersey

Molly also has a middle name ... MONIQUEE ..

Molly is the name of the USMC Mascot dog … and MY DOG too.

Moniquee is my daughter-in-law (well, that is what I call her ;)

Marine is MY SON.

Introducing: LENA LAROSSE; Little Big Eyes doll

LENA is one of the "4 sisters" from New Jersey, a Little Big Eyes model, with BRIGHT LEMON YELLOW hair.  I already have a Little Big Eyes doll with the same hair, same red stains on her feet from her red shoes ... so again, my mission and challenge is to help make them each individuals, and UNIQUE !

LENA LAROSSE
This is the picture from the seller in New Jersey.
Her name was "Samantha" ... and to me, in this picture, she looks like SAD SAMANTHA ...
I really am quite surprised that TWO dolls, with the exact same hair color, same mold, etc., can look so completely different ... but here you go ... it is TRUE.  I just hope she doesn't STAY sad ... now that she is a
CALIFORNIA GIRL !!!

LENA LAROSSE is the actual first and middle names I picked out for my first, and only child.  Since I was pregnant in the days PRIOR to ultrasound announcements (they had ultrasound;  they just were not ALLOWED to reveal the sex of your child, due to lawsuits, or whatever ... )  ... so in those days, everyone naturally had TWO names ready ... MY CHILD IS A BOY !!!

LENA LAROSSE is also a FAMILY name;  belonged to my Father's Aunt, his mother's sister.

Introducing: KIRSTYN KAVALERI; Little Big Eyes doll

This is KIRSTYN KAVALERI, one of the "4 sisters" from New Jersey, Black Hair model

KIRSTYN KAVALERI
This is the picture from the seller, Patty 
 (she was named Jade, and was a Jersey girl, but NOW she is KIRSTYN KAVALERI, A CALIFORNIA GIRL!)

KIRSTYN is named after an actual girl in my life named KIRSTYN ... sadly, another girl I lost.  She is still on this planet, but just lost "to me".  I love her very much.

The name "KAVALERI" is a version of the REAL girl with that name, who I think embodies strength and inspiration for ALL GIRLS.

Introducing: JAY~ANNA JULY ~ Little Big Eyes doll

(okay, I skipped a few letters of the alphabet ... I will most likely catch up later, but I had a brain-freeze with the letters  F, G, H, and I .... )

Jay-Anna July

She is one of the Little Big Eyes dolls, that also has very special meaning to me.  I was searching the on line auction site, as usual, and I found a lady who was offering THE ENTIRE SET OF 4 Little Big Eyes Dolls!  Not only that, but ... ALL AT ONCE, in ONE auction! 

Well, I know I already have 3 of them ... but I figured, for my DESIGNS, I will NEED a lot of models, so I sent her a little message, thanking her for offering them "all together", and her reply was so sweet and she said she wanted them to "stay together" !  Now, how sweet is THAT???

Further, after I won the auction, she introduced me to the ENTIRE BLYTHE (and clone) WORLD on flickr!  She is a very special person, indeed!

ACTUAL auction site pic from seller (Patty)
L to R:  JAY-ANNA, Lena, Kirstyn, Molly
All 4 are LITTLE BIG EYES dolls, by Streetwise Designs, 2001
Series 1

So, the "4 sisters" arrived from New Jersey, and my mission was to make them all into "CALIFORNIA GIRLS" !   These girls ALSO had special meaning to me, because I AM ONE OF 4 SISTERS as well :)

Jay-Anna is my "favorite" .... there is just SOMETHING about her raspberry color hair, I LOVE !

She is named after my son, and ME!

Jay-Anna … Me and Jason

JULY is my birth month  :)

JAY~ANNA JULY
Little Big Eyes doll ~ raspberry hair
Pictured here with her STOCK pink eye chips; shiny face, original make-up and hair style
She is wearing corduroy overalls and tee from my extensive Barbie collection fashions
(plus a little RUBY bracelet I made just for her ... Birthstone for JULY ;)

Introducing EmALY EriKA; Little Big Eyes Doll

EmALY EriKA is a VERY SPECIAL doll, indeed.

With a VERY SPECIAL NAME. 

EmALY EriKA pictured in her STOCK pink eye chips, and GRAPE HAIR
(BOTH of which were changed out later ...)

Quite a lengthy explanation, but I feel it is totally necessary ... I DO name my girls FOR A REASON:

Her name is comprised of parts of the first names of FOUR GIRLS I never met.  These girls, and their story, are indelibly etched in my mind..  Three of these girls are sisters;  the other one is their cousin (the daughter of the 3 girls mother’s only brother.)

What happened was, one summer not too long ago, (July 26, 2009 to be exact) they all went camping with their families.  The mother of the 1 girl ( the aunt of the 3 sisters) was driving ALL of them home after camping. 

At some point during the trip home, that Mother/Aunt decided that she would DRINK.  ALCOHOL.  And drink QUITE A BIT.  So much so, that at one point, she became disoriented, she couldn’t see, and one of her little nieces even tried to call her Dad to say she was concerned.

Instead of stopping and waiting for help, she drove head-on into an SUV traveling the opposite direction.  On the freeway.  ALL 4 PRECIOUS GIRLS WERE LOST.  And that was in addition to the lost lives of the Mother/Aunt/Drunk driver, PLUS the additional 3 MEN in the SUV. 

My thoughts when I read this, were NOT for the girls, of course, but for the survivors ... most specifically ... the PARENTS of the girls!!!!  Having 3 DAUGHTERS …. And losing them ALL IN  ONE INSTANT.  ALL TOGETHER.   JUST GONE. 

UN-BELIEVABLE. 

ALL I WANTED TO DO was to name ONE OF MY GIRLS, IN THEIR HONOR.  (And a ‘strange’ thing was, when I began to purchase my girls, the story of these 4 girls came to mind, once again, here in 2011.  I went on-line to look up their names … and lo and behold ... ONE OF THEM JUST HAD A BIRTHDAY, THAT VERY WEEKEND.  VERY eerie.  But to me, mere CONFIRMATION.

  

SO, here are their names:  Alyson, Emma, Kate,  Erin

I wrote them all down, tried to use initials, tried to use their last name initials, and NOTHING was coming to me.  I finally put it all away, it was boggling my brain, and a few days later, I took out the papers, and the name practically JUMPED OUT at me !

It is INDEED a little piece of EACH of their names (and I did NOT concern myself in which ORDER):

EM is for Emma  +  ALY is for Alyson =  EmAly  (pronounded Emily)

ERI  is for Erin  +  KA is for KATE  =  EriKA


(More updated pictures of her later ... after all the GIRLS' make-overs ... )

Introducing: DALLET DARLING; Basaak Doll from Thailand

DALLET DARLING:  "DALLET" is a name I made up.  I am not sure it IS a real name, but it starts with a "D" and it rhymes with "ballet", and since the word "ballet" is French, therefore, Dallet is a FRENCH name ~ WHICH represents another GIRL that I lost.

"Darling" is well, just Darling, and the last name of Annie, a FAVORITE character in a series of “fun mystery” books I LOVE by Carolyn Hart.

She has the shiny face, and awesome PINK HAIR that I love so much!  She also has the "twist waist" body type that is the closest to the "real" Blythe doll of all the clones.

Introducing: CAMRYN CANE; CCE Doll from Thailand

CAMRYN CANE is named after the (now lost) LOVE of my life ... His name was Cameron, and I am sure you can figure out the "Cane" part ;)

She came ALL THE WAY across the ocean, from Thailand ... (along with her sister, Dallet ... )

CAMRYN CANE:  This is her in her STOCK GREEN eye chips, and she still has her stock CCE (spindle) body that was later replaced with a more sturdy doll model ... )

Introducing: BERTHA BELLE; Little Big Eyes Doll

My next girl, is also an LBE (Little Big Eyes) doll. 

Her name is BERTHA BELLE.

She is named after ~

MY 2 GRANDMOTHERS,  both of whom are not on earth, but they both lived very long and happy lives, and my three sisters and I were very fortunate to have them around for a lot of our lives, and even our childen's lives:

Bertha is my Dad’s Mother;

Belle is my Mom’s Mother’s middle name, well, actually it is ella, but close enough.


BERTHA came wearing her stock pullover knitted sweater in off white, with a red heart in the center.  She has on denim bell-bottom pants, and red mary-jane style platform shoes.  All the LEMON HAIR blonde LBE dolls have red stained feet from these shoes:

I did try a few methods to get rid of the stains, but for me personally, I do not plan to showcase her barefoot, or take any photo shoots with her not wearing shoes, and/or stockings/socks.  The feet of the LBE dolls are also quite a bit larger than Blythe, so in order for her to fit into these fashions, I plan to modify all of their feet, making them smaller, just for the purpose of fashionable footwear! 

Introducing: ASHLEIGH AQUA; Little Big Eyes doll

My VERY FIRST, so of course she is special in that way ...

ASHLEIGH AQUA:  My very first Blythe CLONE doll;  a LITTLE BIG EYES doll, by Streetwise Designs, 2001

As mentioned, her face, her pout reminded me of a very young girl ... Named Ashley ... who left this earth in 2004, and had a MUCH bigger impact than she could, in her young 19 years, EVER imagine, on people she barely even knew.  My last view of her … sadly … well, let’s just say, she looked just like this, and that is why, any modifications to her face will be very minimal.  Nothing too drastic.

Actual auction site photo:  Her outfit was a black long sleeve slinky tee;  hideous gold pleather type pants;  black ankle boots;  and her straight black hair in bangs, tacked down by factory plastic ties, etc.

The “Leigh” portion of her name is for THE BEST MOST TRUE FRIEND I have EVER had.  She would NEVER, EVER even THINK of throwing me away.  No matter WHAT.

“Aqua” is for the name I made up when Jason was little … it was a contender for the next kid I never had.

Hideous "factory" / stock GREEN EYE CHIPS.  This "deer in the headlights" is precisely WHY these dolls get their eyechips changed!  Geez ...

After spending the better part of TEN YEARS inside their factory boxes, these LITTLE BIG EYES dolls, who came out in 2001, were ready for some pampering.  As each one arrived, she had a little spa robe, and maybe even a little "pet friend" to welcome her to MY HOME.   I DO love them so.

WHAT'S IN A NAME ?

Prior to beginning to make any changes in the appearance of any of my GIRLS ... I thought I should give them each a NAME....

In the tradition of the original names that Kenner gave their Blythe dolls in the 70's, by utilizing alliterations (i.e., Kozy Kap, Lounging Lovely, Medieval Mood, Golden Goddess, Roaring Red ... well, you get the idea ... )

The very first doll I saw on the auction site, reminded me so much of a person that I knew at one time ... a very young girl, but the undeniable pouty look on her face ... well, it was quite spooky actually.  So that is how it all began ... I shall introduce all my girls, and show pictures of them in their original, factory, "stock" condition, outfits, and features.

DETOUR

Crochet DESIGNS:  research, blueprint designs, outlines, color choices, research complete:  CHECK !

SUPPLIES secured:  Yarn, hooks, patterns, embellishments:  CHECK !

Dolly MODELS:  Researched, bid on, won, and RECEIVED (10 dolls in total):   CHECK!

ALL ready to roll ... TIME to put my ideas into crochet ACTION ...

But WAIT !

I just can’t leave my Girls the way they are!  First of all, the real Blythe … I mean, her hair, yikes!  THE most hideous hair-do ever !  And now I have “repeat” Little Big Eyes … 2 Lemon head blondes, 2 with grape color hair ~ ugh;  and 2 with pitch black hair … IDENTICAL.  The two from Hong Kong, especially in comparison with the Blythe, were just somehow, sad.  The Basaak’s hair was NOT the color I ordered (but I couldn’t just hop in the car with my receipt and return her! Ha!), and the CCE’s body, well, I was loosing sleep over this one.  Her limbs were like little toothpicks stuck into her sparse body … and I just did not think she was comparable to even the Little Big Eyes. 

Left:  ADG Blythe (Aztec Arrival).  Center: CCE Doll (notice no rotation of waist).  RIGHT:  Olsen Twins body

Since I had been doing so much intense research, I KNEW there were a lot of things that can be done to “change” a doll … from the easy steps like changing her outfit … to the most extreme face carving, and re-rooting her entire head of hair.  These changes also had a range of expense … not to mention, EXPERTISE!  My first thought was that surely I can remove the Girls’ eye chips, clean them up, make them all shiny, even use some foil, which I had seen done, if even JUST to attempt to make them not so "dull".  I mean, I already had a glue gun and sticks … and on the pucci collective site, they tell you how to clean the chips, and there are several sites with instructions on how to “foil”, etc.

LITTLE BIG EYES DOLL ~ UN-TOUCHED:  STOCK BROWN EYE CHIPS, LASHES, HAIR, FACE, LIPS, NOSE

However, most of these instructions were for BLYTHE DOLLS.  Not my poor, ugly, little “LBE” dolls, of which I now have 7 !!!  I searched, and searched, and searched …. And NOPE.  No one had any information, much less PHOTOS of the actual DIFFERENCE in their eye chips, much less the eye sockets.  I did pick up on a few "Blythe Clone Haters" out there ... but again, for ME, all the MORE reason to HAVE these Little Big Eyes ... maybe even rescue them from the "Island of Misfit Toys" or something ;)

LITTLE BIG EYES factory box:  Showing Series 1 ... I don't think they ever offered Series 2 for sale, but there are some out there on flickr ...

Another relatively inexpensive “change” I could make, would be to cut their hair, and give them some curls.  Information on plastic/acrylic doll hair is out there, for sure, and I know it can’t be treated the same as human hair (heat appliances), as it IS plastic, and would melt.  SINCE, my goal was to make EACH GIRL look a little different, to make her an INDIVIDUAL, even if she does have the same color hair as her “Sister”. . . I thought that giving them a no-cost hair style would just have to do.  I was not about to attempt a re-root, and I would have loved to buy a wig or two ... but again, the EXPENSE is what stopped me.



This is pretty much how ALL the LITTLE BIG EYES hair looks:  Lemon Yellow, Black, Grape, and Raspberry models.  NO style, a little bit choppy, bangs in the front, straight down style.  In my opinion, it is very GOOD quality hair.  Some made note of "greasiness", but in all 7 of my girls, I did not find that at all.



I made some blue-prints, charts, and grids on my ideas for each of my Girls.  I made notes on their hair COLOR, what I wanted their style to be, how or if I would cut their hair, etc.  Now, I do not know how to cut hair.  Or plastic.  So I knew whatever I did, would have to be very slight, and nothing too drastic.  Surely I could get rid of that “factory chop” look the clones had!  As for my real Blythe, I wasn’t about to make too many changes on her … she was only $125., but I KNOW  my limits.  I am not a customizer!  Attemping a simple hair-do couldn’t be THAT hard, now could it ??? 



This is the LITTLE BIG EYES, Series 1, Black/Raven hair version

After chosing hair styles for each of my girls ... my thoughts naturally began to further consider ... Hmmmm… what would my Girls look like if I took the shine off their faces?  I sort of like that shiny look though ... but ... a package of Mr. Clean sponges can’t be THAT expensive, can it?  And how hard could it be to just gently rub the shine off?  (aka, sand-matte) 

Which is at what point I think I took  ... THE TURN …. THE TURN into my now obsession, to give my Girls REAL make-overs!  I am not calling them “custom” dolls … I am not going to insult the REAL, bonafide, talented customizers out there.  I am simply going to change MY GIRLS appearance, as much as I can without a lot of effort, money, or skill …

I shall take you through MY PROCESSES ...

Cleaning their eye chips;

Getting the shine OFF their faces;

Trimming and curling their hair.

And we shall SEE how many different looks I can come up with!

How I arrived in Blythe World

I did not have a Blythe doll in the 70's as a child, as I was probably too old at that time.  I do have younger sisters, but I don't remember this doll at all.  I didn't even play with dolls all that much when I was growing up, because I was too busy.  I am one of 4 daughters, and surprisingly, none of us played with dolls!  We did have some baby dolls growing up, I am sure, but nothing memorable.  We were either outside playing with our neighborhood full of friends, swimming in our pool, riding our bikes, or doing house and yard work!  I also spent most of my free indoor time reading.  I was such an early and heavy reader, that I would use a flashlight at night when I was supposed to go to bed, and when I got older, my MOM made me go out on my first date, because she thought I stayed in too much!  Not much has changed :)

I learned how to knit and crochet when I was about 8, from our Grandma.  We were all taught, but I am the only one who still to this day enjoys the needlecrafts.  I love to create ... knitting and sewing included, but crochet is my favorite.  I call it my "therapy".

I did start a Barbie collection, but that began only in 1992, and I was already 35 by then.  My sister bought me a Barbie (as a joke, really) for Easter that year, because I used to wear this hideous gold-tone bathing suit top ... and that year they had "Sunshine Barbie" ... wearing a shiny gold suit like mine!  And she had blonde hair, so she thought it was funny.  I opened that Barbie ... and I fell in INSTANT love.  I was much more asset liquidated at that time in my life, so I was able to buy quite a few Barbies.  This was pre-ebay you must remember, and all I had was Toys R Us, and some other misc. toy stores here and there.  I also had a 5 year old (son) and so every trip we made to the toy store for Ninja Turtles ... had me in the Barbie section, adding to my collection!

The thing about Barbie collecting though ... they must STAY inside their boxes ... well, to be "worth" anything later.  I knew this.  But seriously, who has room for all that display?  I had so many Barbies, in their boxes, but they were just piled up, stacked up, and being stored in larger boxes ... in the garage!  How enjoyable is THAT?

Enter the computer age ... the ebay years (when it was FUN) ... 1999 and a few years after.  WHAT did I find out about all my precious Barbies that I had been toting around for 10 years?  THEY WERE NOT WORTH ANYTHING!  And ... they still aren't!  I had Barbies that were so beautiful, and special to me ... but basically worthless.  The ones you could go to Target that day and "find" ... were worth MORE!  So, I basically sold off as many as I could, the ones without sentimental value, i.e., not gifts from my friends and loved ones.  But they remained in their boxes, either way. 

Fast forward to ... 2008.  I took up crochet again, in a very strong way.  (Long explanation of how THAT all happened, at a later time.)  I basically stuck with either squares, to be put together later ... or whole afghans (i.e. SQUARE shapes).  NO fancy stitches, no color changes, etc.  Just plain, straight forward "crochet as therapy" for me.  My family thinks I am a crazy person, rightfully so, because that became the ONLY thing I ever WANTED to do  (besides work of course, which I have to do, every day, 5 days a week, for my entire life).

But something quite magical happened during the Holiday Season of 2010.  I was searching for an idea to make a Holiday/ Christmas afghan ... and one of my searches came up with "crochet turkey".  I thought, "oh, man, I have to see this!", because there is a website called "what not to crochet" and if you have never visited that site, you should.  It had me falling off my chair laughing, so many times, it is HILARIOUS!  It basically features HIDEOUS items made from crochet, either from vintage pattern books, or even things they have found today ... but the commentary is just priceless.  (I also acknowledge the stigma attached to crochet items.  When we were growing up, things like "tissue holders", kitchen items, "useful" gadgets, all made by usually your Grandma, were, um ...hideous!  So when I began to crochet, I was bound and determined to stay clear of hackneyed designs and try and make fresh, new, exciting designs, using bright and modern color combinations (Sarah London is a HUGE influence ... she is THE MASTER). 

Anyway, I digress ... Looking at that cute little "crochet turkey" ... just did something to me.  I printed out the pattern, and proceeded to take it home and try and make it ... I didn't even have to buy anything, I had every color of yarn already!  (Picture below is what came with the pattern:)

Of COURSE I screwed up the pattern, reading it wrong ... however, I ended up LOVING it more than their example of what it was supposed to look like!  I could just picture in my mind ... showing up on Thanksgiving Day, plunking the turkey in the center of the table, and my family would be SO IMPRESSED! 
(Picture below is MY turkey ... inside a wreath my sister had up for decor that day ...)

But first ...


I took him to work.  I placed him on my desk, which is front-and-center to several companies, so it was seen by all.  One person in particular loved it so much, she asked me "do you think you could make me one, plus 6 babies?"  WHAT ???  I mean, this ONE TURKEY took me ALL WEEKEND to do ... but for some reason ... I could not say no!    (Below:  The little Turkey Family I made for my friend ... )

And see, THAT right there, is what got me started ... I discovered that my little turkey, is what they call "amigurumi" ... which has its OWN little world!  I began another obsession (you will see ... that IS my nature ;)   I figured, since I could do all those turkeys ... I could surely do some Christmas decorations!  I started with an Angel tree topper ... tackled an entire Snowman Family of 4 ... and then, in my search for "ornaments" ... I saw it ... THE MOST adorable MINI-SWEATER ORNAMENT!!!  Well, I knew right then, I just HAD TO make those!  Had to! 

I began searching ONLY for the sweater ornaments ... checking out designs, patterns, figuring out how to make my own mini-hangers ... because to buy them was either WAY too expensive, or impossible to find any that SMALL!  AND.... here is (finally !) where Blythe comes in ... in my search for "Mini-Sweaters" ... came the most STRANGE looking doll I had ever seen .... BLYTHE!!!  I thought "geez, really?  what is all the interest in this kooky looking doll???"  and didn't give her another thought.  That is until ...

This is one of my crochet cardigans, on AshLeigh Aqua, a Little Big Eyes Doll

I discovered ETSY !  OH MAN?  AGAIN, I came to the realization, there is a HUGE following and deman for items for these Blythe doll lovers / collectors ... and I was on another obsession.  But first .... okay, here it comes .... I needed MODELS for my designs!  If I was going to offer my little sweaters to these Blythe lovers, then, I would need to SHOW THEM what their girls would look like ... not to mention the SIZE had to be just right.  Surely I could get me a Blythe doll ...

RIGHT!  Are you KIDDING ME?  OVER $100. for a used, nude, no-box, who-knows-if it is authentic, doll from overseas?????  You KNOW what I am saying.  Enter the enticing world of ... (Blythe snobs, cover your ears here:  CLONES !)  I am no snob.  I am no debutante, and I have certainly never been spoiled.  In any way.  By anyone.  EVER.  Not because I don't think I deserve it.  NO.  But because I would never ALLOW that to happen.  Firmly believing that all things come to an end, I could not bear it to lose a style I had become accustomed to, so I just stay in the middle ground ... of EVERYTHING.  My choice.

I also am known to not only "root" for the underdog, but BE an underdog.  Off brands don't bother me, if they can still do the job.  I have grown up being resourceful, out of necessity.  I WILL make it happen; if I make up my mind to do something, I will do it.  (Or at least give it the ol' college try ...)  My first thoughts are to try and get it done as efficiently and inexpensively as I can, but there ARE those things:  you just can NOT comprimise on.  And yes, BLYTHE included ...

I am known to be an intense and extensive research artist.  I never jump into anything, without researching the heck out of the subject.  Even before the internet!  In my research, for all things Blythe, as you can imagine, I did see the "Clone World".  I did notice how inferior the poor little clones were, but I thought, heck, all I need is a MODEL!  I don't need a REAL BLYTHE for Heaven's sakes! ... just to make a little crochet sweater! 

My discovery of "LITTLE BIG EYES" had a huge impact on me.  The first one I ever saw was probably on flickr.  Her face was not even comparable to Blythe, I thought.  She looks pouty, sad, moody, even mad ... where Blythe looked more like she had a shy little grin, and even a hint of a smile.  Due to the fact that the Little Big Eyes dolls were SO ugly ... I knew I just had to have one.  I thought she would do PERFECTLY FINE for what I needed her for ... a model.

I ordered her on the auction site, not more than $25. . . and she came from the USA.  I not only was not breaking my bank account, but I wasn't stressing about her delivery.   The very MOMENT I opened that box, and saw her face ... well, I am sure that is how Blythe owners feel about their first Blythe ... but  this feeling for me, was with my LITTLE BIG EYES ... AshLeigh Aqua.  (More on how I named my Girls in a later post).

I took her home, IMMEDIATELY took her out of that box, removed the hideous clothes that she had been wearing for about 10 years (KB Toy Stores sold these in 2001, I believe) ... and stayed up all night making her a nice, comfy, plush spa robe, complete with a waist-tie accented in spring green color, a hairband for her gorgeous hair, and a pair of matching slippers with pom-poms!  THAT is how much I LOVE her!

As you can imagine, it didn't end there.  I now had to search for SISTERS !!!  I wanted her to have 3 sisters, just like I have.  I was going to call my label "Four Sisters Designs".  (but later discovered this was too common, there are a lot of 'sister' names out there).  AshLeigh got her first sister, Bertha Belle, probably a couple of weeks later, also from an auction site, also from USA.  She got the same "spa treatment" when she came "home" ... as they all have.


Two lead to three ... which lead me to ... overseas!  Yes, I wanted to SEE for myself, the "clones" that were closer to how the real Blythe looked.  And all this time, I was researching, reading, looking at pictures, tutorials, etc.  So I was INFORMED.  I just wasn't "hooked" yet ...

My two girls from Hong Kong arrived shortly, and now I had 5.   PERFECT number.  Plenty!  Now, just start crocheting and get on with it!!!  Yeah, right.  I was like the obsessed collector ... just "checking" to see if there were any other Little Big Eyes out there.  Enter PATTY, from New Jersey.  She listed HER girls, ALL 4 OF THEM, at one time, on the auction site!  To me, this was PERFECT!  I wouldn't have to pay shipping times 4, and too, I did not NEED their original boxes!  I knew I was going to USE them.  Which leads me to another thing I love about the Blythe World of collectors ... as opposed to the Barbie World of collecting:  The Blythe World actually ENJOYS, AND PLAYS, AND DRESSES, AND PHOTOGRAPHS their dollies, even making them "talk" !   This was VERY appealing to me.  I was DONE living with crates of "treasures" that didn't even see the light of day, stuck on some shelf, in the garage!  (Don't worry, I DID save SOME of my Barbies for my granddaughters ... which my Son will have some day ... :)

Actual auction site picture by Patty from New Jersey

In my usual style, I bid and WON those 4 New Jersey Girls from Patty ... and I was happy .... Well, as happy as "The Princess and the Pea" could be.  There was just a little nagging "feeling" I had ... like there was "something" missing .... something just not quite right ...  So, after a few conversations on-line with Patty, the lady who allowed me to "adopt" all 4 of her Little Big Eyes dolls (she was offering them as a group, because although she felt she was not fully "into" them, she still cared enough to want to keep them together ... which I think is sweet :) ... she convinced me that if I looked around enough, I could find a REAL BLYTHE at a reasonable price ... and so .... that was all the encouragement I needed ... and the next thing I know, I am the owner of a REAL BLYTHE. 

Oh, but not just ANY Blythe ... no!  I later found out, she is the MOST UN-DESIRABLE of all the Blythes.  Not only is she an Ashton-Drake ... but she is an Aztec Arrival!  With THE most hideous hairstyle, the GREENEST face, combined with the most un-flattering shade of pinky-purpleish-mauve, and don't get me started on her outfit !   I know they were trying to "duplicate" the REAL Kenner Blythe that  came out in the 70's, but geez ... that was the FIRST thing I did ... get that OFF of her!

Okay .... so NOW I AM READY!  NOW I AM COMPLETE!  NOW I can start to crochet ......

WELCOME

WELCOME TO SWAN LOVE DESIGNS.

So much MORE than just designs ...

Here is a little bit about me ...