In Progress Customization Pictures are Creepy

Dear Sarah,

I've really been wanting to customize, but have been scared about messing up an expensive Blythe, and a little wary after reading how hard it was to get the chippies out of Blybe and CCEs. So I decided to practice on a staple of every American girl's childhood, a beloved Barbie doll. I've had this one lying around for a while, and I haven't used her for much, only to swipe her shoes, socks, and skirt for Coral. So instead of studying for a final, I decided to start as much as I could at 1 AM and without buying anything. I need to get Christmas gifts done and rearrange my terribly messy craft room before I start customizing, but just a start.

So, this is Barbie in all her plastic, 1990s/early 2000s glory:

I took her face off with acetone nail polish remover. I plan on redoing her eyes and eyebrows in a less creepy Barbie-ish way, and giving her lighter lipstick. I also cut the majority of her hair off because it was gross, and to see how it was rooted into her scalp. I can't decide if I want to give her a yarn reroot, or get a cheap wig and use the acrylic from that. But here she is in her horrific state:

Yeah, she looks completely different and completely terrifying. I really need to hurry up and start work on her, because she's just so damn scary! But Christmas gifts come first.

Also, I'm looking for a Licca body for Zooey, so if you see a cheap one, do let me know! Nice tutorial, buy the way. I saw one for fixing a Kenner body, I believe, and they used a screw for the neck. A little unnerving, but apparently it worked fine.

♥ Jillie

P.S. Happy birthday!!

Attaching A Licca Body Tutorial

Dear Jill,

Adalind is beautiful! Congrats!! Lol she looks like she could be a handful!! And well done you for taking Coral out - I wish it was something I felt comfortable doing, but alas, I am a coward. Maybe someday!

Today I have for you the long awaited Licca to CCE body swap tutorial. I had totally forgotten I had the pictures for this, when I was reminded by Meester X on Flickr. Thank you for jogging my memory!

This is a tutorial about attaching a Licca Chan body to a CCE head, but it also works for attaching any body to a head where the neck hole is too big for the actual neck - including Pure Neemo body to Blythe head :)

Firstly...


This is the inside of a CCE dolls head. It's pretty similar to the Basaak/Blybes really - it has the same eye mech and spring. The thing that is very different is the neck hole. As you can see, it is very wide. That is because the neck of the CCE body...


... is also very wide. It's strange - the body is tiny but the neck's massive! Here is it compared with a Basaak/Blybe body...


Note the different neck shapes. If you tried attaching a Basaak/Blybe body, or even a Licca Chan (which has a similar neck to Basaak/Blybes) is will simply fall out of the head. The way round this...


Rubber bands! You just need to keep wrapping the bands around the part of the neck that has the little groove in it. This is how it fits onto the CCE head...


Keep adding bands until you get the sturdyness you want. The fewer bands, the wobblier the head will be. This can be a good thing, if you wanted to pose your dolls with their head slightly tipped.

When all's done, you can reattach the head, and you're done!



Pretty simple really :)

I hope this was of some help!

Sarah
-x-

Blythe in Public

Dear Sarah,

I finally got enough courage to take Coral out to somewhere that wasn't my backyard or the playground outside my house. I started small; we just went to our storage unit to pick up a few Christmas decorations. And I ended up not running into anyone anyway, but I suppose it's a good start. Baby steps, right?

She really wanted to drive, but she didn't bring her ID.

"Gee, we sure have a lot of decorations!"

Big space, small girl.

Hurray! Everything fits! 

And a few links:

• Doll Photography Tutorial
• Peasant Blouse Pattern - the tutorial uses a larger doll, but goes by measurements, so I'm sure it can be sized down for Blythe
• Super easy sofa pattern using styrofoam, foam board, batting and fabric! I'll definitely be making one of these soon!
• Vintage Barbie Dress Pattern - I haven't tried, but it might be able to fit a Takara or Licca body. And it uses darts, so it looks like a good intro for those who haven't tried them before, like me. Plus since she reverse-engineered it from a vintage dress it might fit better than the super busty Barbies from the 90s that I had. 
• Poodle skirt! Too cute!
• Crochet shrug
• Basic pair of jeans
• Basic gathered waistband skirt
• And I had to add this: 

Ha, I can't imagine trying to get any of my girls to wear it! But it's kinda cute! 

♥ Jillie