Crochet sidetrack

Inbetween trying to get my dolly "models" ready to be presentable with their little dolly make-overs, I do occasionally take little side-trips, when my friends and family have occasions to celebrate ...

Here are some of my crochet creations I have made specifically for each person, for their specific event so far this year of 2011 ...


My girlfriend's daughter had her Quincenera in May, so I made her this little mini-version of her ballgown:




It is a halter style dress, hanging on its own tiny little silver clothes hanger,
embellished with a floral motif.
(actual dress BELOW:)



I also have a friend who celebrated her birthday in JUNE, so I made her one of my copyright BIRTHSTONE CUPCAKES, featuring Birthstone for June:  PEARL

BIRTHSTONE cupcake pictured here with Little Lamb,
and with Jay~Anna, my Little Big Eyes (Blythe clone) DOLL

In APRIL, I made a little sweater ornament for my friend who LOVES red ... she just doesn't play with dolls like I do, so I made it "ornament style":

These too will be offered for sale for BLYTHE (and like) DOLLS,
another one of my original copyright Swan Love DESIGNS

This SHAMROCK CUPCAKE was created for my niece, who is our very own Family LEPRECHAUN, as she was not only born on St. Patrick's Day, but ... she has RED HAIR! 

She (my niece) also likes sock monkeys, for some reason ?, and at Christmas time, I told her I would make her one.  I think he turned out SO CUTE!  This is my own pattern:





WONDERING if perhaps I should offer these up for sale ...
I DID take a picture of him WITH one of my
Little Big Eyes dolls ... it is just about that size ... hmmm ?



Like an over-size stuffed animal for Blythe type dolls.


In February, my Daughter's Mother had a birthday, and I made her an "Amethyst Birthstone" cupcake:

The "candle" is just a rolled up piece of scrapbook paper,
and the "flame" is just a craft pom-pom  :)

FEBRUARY is also VALENTINE'S DAY, and since I am probably my only Valentine, I made these little pins to wear to work that day (they are a tiny bit over 1 inch in diameter):

I also have quite a few people in my life who celebrate their Birthday in JANUARY ... A male co-worker;  a female co-worker;  my nephew, and my new Daughter (okay, she is my "Daughter-in-Law", but I like the term DAUGHTER much more :)

I made this for my male co-worker:
It is my own copyright design;  a FOOTBALL (FACE) SWEATER
which I inserted a store-bought car-room-drawer freshner card,
so he could not only use it where he wanted to,
but when it runs out of fragrance,
he can replace it with his own preference.



This is the FRONT and TOP VIEW of the
JANUARY CUPCAKE I made.
GARNET is Birthstone for JANUARY, so I used garnet color yarn,
and I added little "confetti" sprinkles,
which are actually tiny little brads used for scrapbooking.
Added the face too, of course :)



For this little mini-BIRTHDAY CAKE, I used an actual version of a pattern.
It did not come out as well as it could have,
but I gave it to my friend anyway ;)
It is sitting on top of an upturned wine goblet stem/bottom.

NOW, I really must return to the business of INTRODUCING my newly made-over little models, and then start crocheting like MAD, so that I can open my new on-line storefront.  Hopefully there will be interest in my designs and items I plan to offer for (mostly) Blythe Doll lovers :)

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 ;)