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: 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.