I love dolls. One doll I am drawn to and go away from is Blythe. The big head, the eyes on the string that 'switch' ...she is ultimately fascinating and intriguing and sometimes can be repulsive with the big head, little body and adorable and cute and beautiful all at the same time. I remember wanting one in the 70's as a kid when Kenner made them and my mother simply hated their big heads and eyes. My mom had this thing about dolls with weird eyes, and not letting them in the house. (I think it had something to do with her 6th sense and being able to see spirits, but that's another long story, lol. )
But back to Blythe. One of the things on my long to-do list this year was to finally to something with the factory Blythe I had purchased on Ebay a few years. I had purchased her with the intention of doing a faceup and getting 'into' Blythe. Regular Takara Blythes cost as much as a bjd- up to $99-300 dollars, depending on edition size. Kenner Blythes run about $2000. 'Factory Blythes' are for the most part, essentially 'fake' Blythes and are made with parts from the Chinese factories. They are great for customization, body swapping, etc.
My factory Blythe has a great wig, so I didn't take her wig /scalp off to do any work, just a light sanding on her face which was easy to do and I did the faceup on her brows, and lips and cheeks with watercolor pencils and chalks. I have not sealed it yet because now and then I occasionally add some color to it here and there. Here is a photo shoot I did this morning with her. I really need to get her a new body and some clothes.
Here she is on a Saturday morning adventure going exploring with Marigold Finch, Mr. Tickles the bear and Minuette Mouse. I have shown her here and I don't have a before picture but before, her face was extremely shiny and now it is more 'matte' finish. I want to swap out her body for a jointed Obitsu body so she will stand more easily and get some better shoes for her than the barbie ones I have. Her eyes are so big and 'all-knowing' ...one of the things that draws me to these dolls when they are customized is the look of intelligence in their big eyes.
NEWS...AND UPDATES...
So, I am currently beginning work on the staircase set, Set B, and it is hard going. I did some cleanup from Christmas in my workshop yesterday and hopefully I can get over there today. I have several irons in the fire, so to speak and really want to get the staircase set done so I can do a whole host of new dioramas done.
I also got a new phone! It's a samsung and the camera is awesome, even more better than my little cannon, which I may now have to upgrade.......it takes great pics. I took some pics of the Gothic mansion yesterday with it, and they were really sharper than my camera pics. Simply amazing.
Enjoy!Lisa
But back to Blythe. One of the things on my long to-do list this year was to finally to something with the factory Blythe I had purchased on Ebay a few years. I had purchased her with the intention of doing a faceup and getting 'into' Blythe. Regular Takara Blythes cost as much as a bjd- up to $99-300 dollars, depending on edition size. Kenner Blythes run about $2000. 'Factory Blythes' are for the most part, essentially 'fake' Blythes and are made with parts from the Chinese factories. They are great for customization, body swapping, etc.
My factory Blythe has a great wig, so I didn't take her wig /scalp off to do any work, just a light sanding on her face which was easy to do and I did the faceup on her brows, and lips and cheeks with watercolor pencils and chalks. I have not sealed it yet because now and then I occasionally add some color to it here and there. Here is a photo shoot I did this morning with her. I really need to get her a new body and some clothes.
Here she is on a Saturday morning adventure going exploring with Marigold Finch, Mr. Tickles the bear and Minuette Mouse. I have shown her here and I don't have a before picture but before, her face was extremely shiny and now it is more 'matte' finish. I want to swap out her body for a jointed Obitsu body so she will stand more easily and get some better shoes for her than the barbie ones I have. Her eyes are so big and 'all-knowing' ...one of the things that draws me to these dolls when they are customized is the look of intelligence in their big eyes.
NEWS...AND UPDATES...
So, I am currently beginning work on the staircase set, Set B, and it is hard going. I did some cleanup from Christmas in my workshop yesterday and hopefully I can get over there today. I have several irons in the fire, so to speak and really want to get the staircase set done so I can do a whole host of new dioramas done.
I also got a new phone! It's a samsung and the camera is awesome, even more better than my little cannon, which I may now have to upgrade.......it takes great pics. I took some pics of the Gothic mansion yesterday with it, and they were really sharper than my camera pics. Simply amazing.
Enjoy!Lisa
4 comments:
Hello from Spain: fabulous pics. Lovely .. we keep in touch
thank you!
Hi Lisa,
It's so interesting you posted about Blythe dolls as just recently I've been considering what to do with my Misha Blythe I bought back in 2013. She was my first doll that I bought as an adult and kind of sparked my interest in beginning a collection! I agree with the "off and on" feeling about these dolls, but now I am inspired to possible try customizing her a little. To get the shine off her face you just sand it down? I'd like to give her some cute eyebrows and freckles/rosy cheeks as well as a new body! They really are interesting dolls and can have so much personality depending on the angle you photograph them at. I am amazed at the skill and artistry that goes into some of the Blythe customs I've seen on Flickr. Thanks for the inspiration!
As for the new phone..congrats! Are the camera's amazing these days? I have an iPhone 6, which is pretty great, but my husband has an LG something and that camera is always as good as my expensive Canon DSLR! Pretty cool and handy when you don't want to lug a big camera around!
Farrah, my new phone is a Samsung note 5? my husband has the samsung note 4 and the camera on this thing is incredible. I compared the photos taken with my Cannon point and shoot and this phone and it is really incredible. I just upload my pics to photobucket and alter them there , I didn't even use my camera pics for this blog post! The amount of detail sharp and clear I can get my phone to do is astounding. Now it looks like I will have to upgrade my camera, snicker. Hubby will not like that!
There are some really great tutorials on how to customize these dolls, I surfed around until I found some. Youtube has alot of tutuorials and Facebook has alot of groups, that I joined just to listen and get tips. Flicker has a couple of groups too. I have to admit looking at all the pics on Flicker is where I lusted after all t he customs ....such as the ones Dollytreasures and randomclicks55 has on flicker. I;m not really drawn to 'stock' Blythe but the ones with the sad makeup and mohair wigs and freckles, and pouty mouths, lol.
I will try and do a blog post on some links to where I got the ideas. I used regular chalks, and watercolor pencils for my blythe. I might still do more work on her as she still has shinyness around her eyes I can't get off- and the only way to do that is to disassemble her faceplate, and take off her scalp. I am planning to buy her an Obitsu body so will post pics when I do her bodyswap, if that will help.
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