PART V: HOLIDAYS ~ CHRISTMAS

Christmas is always so wonderful and fun, at any age ... but especially NOW that I am once again, playing with dolls, and CREATING ... :)

Little ANGEL~WING Dress series

Each dress comes with REAL FEATHER wings, that I made into separate PINS, so that dress can be worn with the wings, or without  ...

Some are made from Mohair Blend;  some with sequins;  Some in Angora;  Some in metallic silver or gold ...

Some with short sleeves ... puff sleeves ... long bell-sleeves ...

 And ALL with little "face framing" collars ... some in SPARKLE HOLIDAY TRIM YARN ...

and SOME in the scallop-ruffle style ...

I made some "SANTA'S LITTLE HELPER" Dresses .... in all sorts of colors ... Christmas Reds and Green ... Sparkle Mint, Icy Blue, and Icy Pink ...

Each one has a little belt ... either white satin or black pleather, with little gold-tone buckles, or sparkle rhinestone buckles ... and the little dresses have a white tulle underskirt for volume ...

I also made some "Novelty" style dresses ... featuring RUDOLPH ... a GINGERBREAD MAN ... and some SNOWMEN ...

 SNOWMEN "FACE" ... with a little "slouch" collar piece as the BLACK TOP HAT with FUNNY FLOWER

SNOWMEN BODY ... comes complete with little black TOP HAT, and NECK SCARF in choices of COLORS ...

In the continuing theme of SANTA'S LITTLE HELPER ... I made some little SANTA-STYLE COATS ... which can be worn alone as a dress .... as a little COAT-TYPE piece OVER another dress ... or make it casual over a pair of jeans ...

CHRISTMAS will be here again .... before you know it ... and we here at SWAN LOVE DESIGNS will be READY !  :)

UNIQUELY SWAN LOVE DESIGNS ... DEFEATED, DEPLETED, DONE

EVERY SINGLE TIME that I decided to MAKE A BLYTHE FASHION, I do EXTENSIVE research into ALL things Blythe ~  on all the sites.  It takes MONTHS, indeed a year in some cases, to be SURE that WITHOUT A DOUBT, there is NO ONE out there offering what idea that I have thought of, as far as dolly fashions. 

I  started out thinking "HOLIDAY FASHIONS" ... but things have evolved . . . Some of my ideas were not only impractical, but just not worth the effort.  I also began making OVER-SIZE fashions, thinking it would compensate for her HUGE HEAD ... but NO ONE wants that!  They WANT those tiny little postage size dresses ... so .... I CAN do that.

ALL of my ideas have been ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE.  I have not listed ANY item without THOROUGH investigation to see if anyone was offering the same .... and so, here is what happens:

THESE were offered LAST THANKSGIVING.  These are my little TURKEY TAIL dresses, and I thought they were AWESOME!!!!!

However, the customers told me otherwise, i.e., NO ONE bought one.  Not one.

Okay .... so, OFF those went, and ON TO CHRISTMAS !!!  SURELY they would LOVE my little CHRISTMAS ideas .....

Little "SANTAS HELPER" Dresses ... in Red, Green, Ice Blue, Pink .... which also included a little TULLE underskirt ...

CUTE?  um, NO.  NO ONE wanted these either.  NO ONE.

I even added SHINY BLACK pleather belts, to look JUST LIKE SANTA ... with little RHINESTONE BUCKLES for extra Christmas sparkle ... but ..... NOPE.  NO ONE.

 I even made some cute little SANTA CLAUSE - STYLE COATS ... that could be worn as a DRESS... or over jeans .... or over a dress .... with or without belt .... but NOPE.  NO ONE liked these either ...

NOW .... I DID manage to sell a FEW of my "ANGEL" dresses .... but I think it is BECAUSE:

They are made out of angora-look yarn ....

AND .... BECAUSE SHE HAS HER EYES CLOSED.  THAT seems to "work" for some reason. .....

AFTER Christmas comes ... CELEBRATION OF A NEW YEAR !!!!!  So..... AGAIN, after searching high and low, in every place possible ....I could NOT for the life of me find ANY Blythe wearing a TUXEDO DRESS !!!  (There were tuxedo print tee shirts, and one most auspicious Blythe wearing a tuxedo for a professional photo shoot, but nothing that the average person could purchase) ...

SO ..... I MADE SOME TUXEDO DRESSES!!!

And in my usual style, I MADE THEM COLORFUL .... FUN .... oh, but I should have not wasted my time.  Maybe they would sell if I had made them grey and white, washed out colors ....

I even made matching little TOP HATS to go with the dresses .....

but again, I must be living in an alternative universe, because um, NOPE. 

Okay, to be fair, a lady in N.Y. bought 2 of these, but I have no idea who she is.  She is not on flickr, so no one knows they were purchased, and they were certainly not showcased anywhere to generage MORE sales .... so again, dead end.

Currently, and admittedly, I am selling my WHIMSICAL CRAZY FUNNY BUNNY Easter Collection, for relatively CHEAP, because i am admitting defeat.  I am admitting that I just don't have what it takes to be a Blythe doll designer, and I have no talent, and I suck as a creative person.  I will probably just either keep the rest of my fashions for my granddaughter (I BETTER have one !) , or donate the remaining fashions to the BlytheCon ladies so they can give them away, because apparently that is what they are worth.  FREE.  GIVE-AWAY.  For nothing.

My stupid FUNNY BUNNY Easter dresses, geez.

And I will keep listing my hideous ideas until they are expired and then ship them off.

THE END.

Swan Love Designs: Custom work for Customers

Although I am new to the etsy world, and the Blythe World ... I wasn't sure I would want to do any "custom" work ...


HOWEVER, things just seem to "happen", and the following are some 'custom' pieces I have made for a few of my customers  (I am not referring to customizing dolls ... this is just some Blythe doll fashion notes  :)

 This "ALICE IN WONDERLAND" inspired outfit:  Dress, Hat and Ceptor, were made for a very special etsy customer who loves the Alice. 

I made a special CHRISTMAS PACKAGE Gift Set for one of my friends:  Included 2 base white dresses;  Christmas Red, Green & White headbands;  Tulle bow belts; Lace Leggings;  Gold-tone buckles and Rhinestone Buckles;  1 pair of Green GLITTER Mary Jane shoes (large and flat for her LBE girl), and a pair of white bobby socks.  ALL items can be mixed and matched.

This is the YELLOW AND PINK Set I made for her also:  Included two little PASTEL MULTI-COLOR dresses; with ALL coordinating items in Pink and Yellow;  Sweater Cardigans with Rose Pins; Lace leggings; Headbands;  Even matching pink shoes and Yellow Shoes (specially made for her LBE doll which has large and flat feet); Gold-tone buckles and Rhinestone buckles;  All interchangeable.

 Customer wanted a "light brown" little sweater cardigan, with matching rose;  this one is made with a brown and pink combo yarn, in a mohair blend;  with matching Dusty Rose color pin.

 Little HATS I was planning to sell;  but when I sent this to my customer, she obviously did not like them, because I never saw them in any of her pics.  I just thought they were awesome, but apparently, I am so far out in left field, I don't know what Blythe doll owners want, unless it is an old sheet from Aunt Mildred's musty hamper, or a grey depressing color item; a hideous helmet; or something that takes 5 minutes to make, but made from angora. 

 TWO of my little Sweater Cardigans that I have on etsy, but no one wants them. 

 THIS little CHRISTMAS SNOWFLAKE DRESS I made for a customer, and she actually LIKES it, and she does feature this dress on her girls in photos. 

 Another hideous un-wanted sweater ...

 My little "TULLE BOW ~ BUCKLE DRESSES" that I thought were quite awesome, and again, NEVER seen ... but apparently, and as usual, I am wrong.  No one wanted these either.

 TULLE BOW ~ BUCKLE DRESS I made for my customer, SHE loved these so much, she ordered MORE ...

 Another HAT I made for Blythe ... A beautiful mint-green color;  with teal felt rose (those things are not cheap!), adorned with a feather .... but again, I am wrong.  No one likes these.

HAT # 3 ~ epic fail. 


I just obviously do not have the pulse of what a customer wants to buy.  Or, I do, but ... that is not me.  I LOVE color.  I LOVE whimsy.  I always figure that if I am going to SPEND MONEY ... WHY would I buy what EVERYONE on the planet is buying, AND be a cookie-cutter cut-out of everyone else!  Why???

That is why I TRY HARD, and I RESEARCH EXTENSIVELY before I make ANYTHING.  ONCE I am sure that NO ONE HAS WHAT I WANT TO PRESENT, and that I AM NOT COPYING ANYONE IN ANY WAY ... THEN I proceed.  But does that work?  Apparently not.  Maybe I SHOULD copy.  I can definitely make a 1 inch by 1 inch dress made from pure angora and sell it for $30.

December 2011 ~ UPDATES !

LAST POST:  November 4, 2011 ...

I finally opened my etsy shop ... YAY !!!

I have been busy with photo shoots, listings, a few sales, and even more CREATING!

I have also received a NEW GIRL!!!  I got her for such a great price, and of course, I LOVE HER!!!


She is an Ashton Drake Galleries (ADG) Pleasant Peasant, with the most gorgeious BLONDE HAIR, with a right-side part.  She is probably NOT going to receive any customization from me, except PERHAPS a gaze correction ???  We shall see .....

Introducing:  HOLLISTER HARMONICA

She is just SO BEAUTIFUL !!!

I have to admit ... I DID add a row of eyelashes to her stock plastic ones, that seem to bug me ... the way they just jut out, straight, no personality ... And I didn't even glue them on ... I just sort of "placed" them there on the top of her existing lashes   (thus, in some pictures, you can see where they have slipped ... oops!)


In all these photos, HOLLISTER is wearing MY DESIGNS ~  Available now at my little etsy shop, named "Swan Love Designs".

I have made a lot of simple little dresses, but added a silver or gold-tone buckle (metal, not plastic) and added a length of coordinating or contrasting TULLE .... which I make into an OVERSIZE DRAMATIC BOW ... which could be worn in the front, or the back .... and also, the tulle can be replaced with different color tulle, AND/OR ... even ribbon!  The possibilities for these dresses to change their appearance is ENDLESS!

HERE is Hollister with her ADG Sister:  NENETL  (ADG Aztec Arrival):

(They are my etsy girl models, of course !)