New Arrival: The Opening

Dear Sarah,

The girls had a new arrival over here as well! I didn't think she would arrive so soon, but I'm glad she did.

The girls were really excited!

Zooey was especially thrilled, since when Lola came Zooey was in pieces. Zooey was quite dismayed when she was put back together and Coral had made fast friends with Lola. 

The Domos are familiar with boxes, since they order so many of themselves, but they were a little confused as to why this box was so big, and what that big headed thing was inside.

...so the Domos tried to make off with her accessories. They're like little kids, I swear. (But she did come with some neat accessories. Sunglasses and an awesome leather jacket, as well as a necklace that I'm having trouble joining round her neck because it's so tiny, and some kick ass boot that I want in my size!)

She was a little miffed I was taking so many pictures rather than taking her out.

The Domos thought they could take her out of the plastic, but she was not having it! She's quite vain about her hair.

Here she is, fresh and clean from cardboard and plastic. Meet Adalind! We had a mini photoshoot the other day, pictures are HERE in her set. She's already gone through the girl's wardrobe and decided that none are really her style, so she needs me to make her something real quick.

She's an RBL and I can't really tell the difference until I put her up against Coral and Zooey. There's slight differences, but not as much as say an SBL and FBL. She doesn't have the same "cuteness;" she looks more sophisticated.  She's my first doll with extra long hair, (I cut Lola's to mid thigh length) so I'm having a ball being able to braid it and have more freedom to give her updos. It's a bit staticy, so I think all three girls (poor Lola) are going to be in for a Spa Day.

♥ Jillie

P.S. Your family is looking lovely!

Elise & Evelyn

Dear Jill,

Wow, so many links! Fab! The boil perm tute is especially handy - I might try that on one of my girls!

Talking of, last week I was very lucky to greet 2 new girls to my Blythe family. First, there is my Birdie Blue, Elise, seen here being met by Umi, Lilith and Zoe...


I originally didn't go much on BB - the yellow blush is kind of creepy. But she grew on me, until I couldn't say no anymore! Here she is after her Spa day...


Secondly, I bid on and won a Kenner Blythe! Yay! Here she is in her original condition...


She was in great condition really - all I had to do was detangle and even out the hair, fix the pull string and give her a good bath. Here are a few of her spa day pics...






I originally bathed her and washed her hair in Johnsons Baby Shampoo, then applied human conditioner to her hair. I set it in rollers...


... then wahsed her hair a second time. This time, after the johnsons Baby Shampoo, I applied Comfort (Fabric Softener). I only put it on the ends of her hair, as the roots were fine. I set in rollers again, let it dry over night, and this was the result!


Very glam! Her hair stayed like that for a total of 24 hours before going flat lol I decided to call her Evelyn :)

I am very happy with my new girls!

Sarah
-x-

Links and Housekeeping

Dear Sarah,

Wow, CCEs and Blybes are really different, especially since they're the two clones that most resemble a Blythe. I'll link it to our EssHippo Originals page, and I bet soon we'll be having more useful comparisons, like FBL vs RBL and SBL, and even Kenners!

I've been sick the past few days, as I think my stomach has declared mutiny on the rest of my body and is trying to leave. I haven't been able to do much except be on the computer, and I've been hanging around Flickr and BlytheKingdom a lot and have found a lot of useful links. I will be adding these to our Blythe database, but I'll list them here as well as a description.

Onward!

First, some helpful websites:

• Bad Dolly Deals
• a history of Blythe along with information about the owner's custom Birdie Blue (this website is completely dedicated to Liccas, with a small Blythe section)
• Blythe Photography Tips group on Flickr
• Blythe Comparisons group on Flickr
• Blythe Doll - Customs group on Flickr
• Blythe in Progress group on Flickr
• FBL Lovers! group on Flickr (an EssHippo Group!)
• a boil perm tutorial, via Flickr

I found a lot of patterns as well. I just went on a mini shopping spree, and need to save money since I'm planning on going overseas in 2012 so I've decided I'm going to start making all my doll clothes. Sure, I can knit and crochet, but I don't want them to have knit pants, so I'll also be working on my sewing skills and hopefully end up with some cute little pants and blouses, and not too many pins stuck in fingers and mussy fabric.

Knit & Crochet:

• a Baby Doll Top and Cardigan Pattern from BlytheKingdom, for both lace weight and sock weight yarn
• Miniature Knitting group on Flickr, for great inspiration
• Blythe Princess Designs on Ravelry, adorable rompers and wraps all knit in alpaca and every item has a delightful little fluffy alpaca 'halo' 
• Knitting & Crocheting for Blythe! group on Flickr

Sewing:

• Handmade Doll Clothes Galore! group on Flickr
• Mittens! by KerriaRosette
• Index of patterns and images, not sure of source, and I haven't tried any of these so I'm not sure of scale or seam allowance. If you have used them, please let us know!
• T-shirt, flared jeans, and beret
• Smock, from Flickr
• Basic Sheath Dress, from Flickr
• Jumpsuit, from Flickr
• Kimono, from Flickr
• Sewing for Blythe group on Flickr

And a few blogs which I'll be adding to our new sidebar of our favorite blogs.

• Pandora's Dolls
• Blythe Dolls' Bon Voyage: "Lillian and Audrey went on a wonderful journey in France and Belgium this spring and they would like to tell you about it..."
• a post on Blythe Doll Bargain Shopping

Hope this was informative, and hopefully I'll have sun and feel well enough to get some shots of new clothes!

♥ Jillie

Blybe Vs CCE

Dear Jill,

Wow, looks like you and Lola had a great time! I'm so glad she's fitting in well! And I like Zooeys dress actually - very pretty colour combo!

Blybes and CCE's. Yep, they do seem to be the most Blythe like of the clones. Here is a comparion picture...


I found there to be a slightly wider nose bridge on the CCE than the Blybe. You can also see a slight difference in the eye shape - the CCE's are more oval. When I took the face apart I found the inner edge of the eye (where your tear ducts are) to be almost pointed.

The CCE also has extra plastic around the mouth - if you look closely you can see the mouth is actually shaped into a smile. I had to sand this away when I customised Lilith, as I didn't want her to be smiling.

The body's are totally different...


NSFW!! XD

The Blybe body is very much like Takara. Blythe clothes and shoes fit perfectly, but there is a stark colour difference. The Blybe is much more pink.

The CCE body is a tiny bit shorted than Takara, but as you can see it is very thin. Blythe clothes fit, but are very baggy. If you were customising a CCE and wanted her to wear Blythe clothes, I would change the body to a Licca Chan or Azone. Plus if you notice the top of the neck - it is completely different to Blybe and Blythe, which are pretty similar. For a Takara/Blybe/Azone/Licca body to fit a CCE head you need to make adjustments (tutorial to follow!)

Other notes:

. Blybe eyechips are a right pain to remove. You will need a Dremmel. And patience.

. Don't bank on Coolcat and Brainworm chips fitting Blybe/CCE. On all occasions I have had to make the eyechip wells bigger with the help of a dremmel.

. The face colour are both very similar, but both are more pink than Takara.

. My CCE's scalp was floppy. It is made of very thin plastic. It's easier to reroot than Blybe, but you will be left with a spongy head.

. There is a big margin from where the bottom of the scalp starts and the hair begins on the Blybe. I got over this by adding an extra row of plugs. You will also need to stick the Blybe scalp and dome down when you're finished - it lifts off very easily.

. Both eye mechs are the same, though the inside of the CCE's head has some extra bits of plastic where the screws hold the plates together. This doesn't get in the way of any customising though :)

In conclusion, I would say that the Blybe is more like a Takara. I have never customised a Blythe, so I am basing this mainly on what the dolls look like. But the difference is minimal, apart from the body, obviously :S

I hope this has helped!

Sarah
-x-

Dear Sarah,

Wow, Lillith looks great! What a dramatic before and after. How different are CCEs and Blybes? Out of all the clones they seem to be the two that most resemble Blythes. (And on the Blythe Database page, there's a new section for Clones.)

Last Friday Lola and some Domos went out on an adventure at the playground behind my house and had a photo shoot with the autumn leaves. Here's some of the best:

 

Also, I tried to make a crocheted dress today and did the bodice. It didn't turn out as I had planned:

I'm not sure why it's so boxy. Maybe less stitches after the sleeves? I'll frog and redo, frog and redo.

Also, a handy glossary: Do you speak Blythe?

♥ Jillie

P.S. Photos of new dresses soon. I had quite a productive weekend!

Introducing Lilith

Dear Jill,

I'm so glad Lola arrived at yours safely and that you love her! It's great that she has found such a wonderful home, she's a lucky girl! And Zooey and Corals eyes look fab! What a pretty bunch of girls you have!

I had a new member join our little family last week, here's my custom CCE, Lilith!








She's a CCE on a Licca Chan body, with BrainWorm eyechips. The body didn't quit fit the head socket, so I needed to improvise (tute coming soon). But apart from that she was quite easy going, I would definitely take on a CCE again. On many levels she was alot simpler than the Basaak. The only thing I wasn't keen on was the scalp, which is still to this day very floppy and big. But she has so much hair you can't really tell!

Here's a before and after:


I still have some tutes to post, plus them patterns for Blythe hats that I promised ages ago. Hopefully all this will be done in November :)

Sarah
-x-

Eyes!

Dear Sarah,

I finally finished Zooey's eyes, and got around to putting her back together. (I also snapped Coral's head pieces back together so now she has proper eyelids and doesn't look like she's giving everyone the stink eye.)

Coral's New Eyes:
Top: Floral from milkywayblythe; Yellow Actionoid from CoolCat
Bottom: Green 20 line; Yellow and pink Plum Blossom, both from CoolCat

Zooey's New Eyes (I wanted her to have more natural/normal looking eyes, whereas Coral could have kooky and crazy ones that went with her personality.)

Top: Pale gray Plum Blossom; Dark pink Actinoid

Bottom: Dark green 20 Line; Brown Plum Blossom, all from CoolCat

~

I'm so thrilled with the tutorial, as I have a custom Blybe in mind (post forthcoming!)

When you say Vince's Mirror Ball suit from The Mighty Boosh, I just think of this one:

Teehee, naughty naughty!

~

Just a few housekeeping items to note:

• we have a Christmas countdown on the right hand side!
• we have a new page for EssHippo original patterns and links, which also includes our Ravelry page. (OnePinkHippo apologizes for the delay in knitting patterns, but they will get there soon enough.)
• keep an eye out on the Blythe Database, and it does get updated regularly
• HERE is a quick pattern for an embroidered felt skirt! I'll definitely be whipping a few of these up, as well one of Lola who's begging me to do something with this skull fabric she found

Happy Blything and Crafting!

♥ Jillie