Countdown to Christmas- Christmas Day Day Twenty-Five!

Countdown to Christmas- Christmas Day! Day Twenty-Five! Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year- and may all of your dolly dreams come true under your tree!

 

I hope you have enjoyed our 25 days of Countdown to Christmas that I do each year with the dolls. I have started to try and do new photos with the dolls and pull out dolls that haven't received much photo time, such as my Soulkid Katie ball jointed msd doll, and my custom Blythe Alice doll as well as my little bjd mouse. 

Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!~ Lisa

Body-swapping Blythe....

I finally received my Pure Neemo body off of Ebay and I am really pleased. For weeks I had done in-depth, extensive, exhaustive research on the best bodies for Blythe and the factory clones (which my doll is - she's not a real Blythe, sniff sniff for the purists out there, but her price tag made me feel that way- $90!) so I had been at odds with her ugly Takara body. Her arms were ugly white and her body was a flesh color. Her knees would click bend like a Skipper body and her waist would turn, but that was it for articulation. Most of the time she would fall over if she was not on a sturdy waist stand. The despair of getting decent photos of her was going to change. I found out that Obitsu bodies were ok, BUT, most people did not like them because they did not hold the large Blythe heads up well. 

I also wanted my Blythe to be child-like, look like a little girl, to me that is the charm of most of the custom Blythes, dressed like adorable little girls getting into trouble. The Obitsu bodies and some of the Pure Neemo bodies you have to watch what you buy because of the large busts or boob jobs on them. I didn't need a Phicen pole dancing Blythe!! lol!

Changing or swapping out a body for your Blythe is relatively easy. I used a long thing screwdriver. I am sorry I didn't take step by step instructions and didn't even think of this until after I did this and her body was popped in. On the right is the old, Takara body and Alice has her new Pure Neemo body on. 

I purchased the Pure Neemo body off Ebay HERE

Pure Neemo bodies are made by the Japanese company AZONE, so everything is written in Japanese. The seller packaged the item very carefully and shipping was fast. This was a small busted body, serial number was PFL015-FLS. I have seen some people sand the boobs off completely with a dremel to achieve a flat chest for a small child or boy on this body. 

Lift the dolls' hair up and their neck string and pin it out of the way. Start by putting your screwdriver in the top hole and unscrewing that tiny screw first, and laying it aside. You are going to unscrew all three screws of the head.

Go onto the 2nd and 3rd bottom two screws, unscrew and lay them to the side.

Now you will come to opening the head. Take the head by the ears on the sides and squeeze hard to open the head. It should start popping open slightly with the pressure on both sides of the head, just enough so you can pop the cheapola Takara body out and the new body in. My Pure Neemo body is a little loose where the head will tilt back and forth. I have shown this picture the slight looseness around the neck opening. 

Some people close the loose opening around the neck stump because closing the head with tape, or a rubber bands, but I left it that way since the head seemed to close tight and I like her to be able to move her head, it looks more realistic. Her head isn't that wobbly to me and it looks a little more natural. 

I can understand why everyone who customizes Blythe likes this body. She stands well and looks far more natural. 

Now I think someone is ready to show off her new body!

Re-visiting Blythe...

          Alice, my factory girl Blythe, I have been experimenting with lately over the summer. I plan to re-body her with a small pure neemo body when I get time and money- the pure neemo bodies are not cheap. I had looked at Obitsu originally but upon further research on the really great photographers and collectors of Blythe on the groups, like Dolly Treasures  and 4dloveofblythe on Flicker their dolls seem to have this articulated body which moves more easily than the Obitsu and the Takara which my factory girl is on. 

I have done some rough sanding to matte her face, than blushing of her cheeks, and colored her lips with pencils. I haven't sealed them yet. Her clothes, surprisingly, are Sparkle girls! from Walmart. I had been wanting some little overalls for so long and knowing my limited abilities to sew the cute clothes I want for her, and unable to afford the Blythe overalls on Etsy, I decided to check out the Barbie seperates at Walmart and saw the Sparkle girls look Skipper /Momoko size which is PERFECT for Blythe. (Blythe wears the same size as vintage Skipper) I can deal with 1.97 versus $35-60 for an outfit for her!!!  Some Etsy sellers make marvelous clothes, but I cannot afford that for an outfit for myself, LOL...though I know how much work they put into their creations. 

Anyhow, her shoes are some vintage green boots from my Barbies that I had and are the only ones I had that will fit her feet.  I have been meaning to get her boots/shoes but wanted to wait until her body gets here. When I order it. 

On another note, my Poppy dolls Powder Puff and Ooh La La! should be arriving soon, I finally got the funds to pay for them. So some pictures should be coming soon. I need some new dollies....

Happy Labor day weekend...though what is so good about Labor I don't know...lol....

Lisa

Blythe, Blythe, Blythe.....

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

Breakfast food items, new listings on Ebay & Etsy stores

I have some new food items I just finished, which are listed on Ebay in my Ebay store 
Pumpkin Hill Studios & my Etsy store. Click on the Etsy box above on the picture of the item to take you there.
First up are the items on Ebay: 2 plates of pancakes, sausage, and eggs with butter, syrup and blueberries. One plate has fried eggs, the other scrambled. These are large plates 2 inches across. They were alot of fun to make, as my husband loves to eat a big breakfast, so this is just the kind of breakfast for your Hommes, GI Joes, Ken, or your action figures. 
Each plate took alot of time to create- $12.99 each and both have free shipping.

I have shown my foods here also with Barbie, Poppy Parker, GI Joe, as well as my Blythe doll Alice. I am really pleased with these two items as I achieved the realism I desired - I always try to improve with each new dish I create. 
Next up is the cake with slice cut out of it and it has 5 candles- just blown out!

This one is on Etsy for $15.99 free shipping in the USA only

It is GI Joe's 50th anniversary birthday this year, so this is a perfect cake for him! It has 5 candles on top (they do not light) and one slice cut out of it. 
I am working on more miniature food! Please shop my Etsy store links as well as my Ebay store links for these items!

Alice Blythe arrival....

I have't posted much, but mentioned in one of my previous posts I was waiting for a new arrival of a new doll- of course! And this time this was a Factory Blythe.  I won on her auction on Ebay and she actually arrived about a week or two ago, at the beginning of August. Because of her hair, I knew she would be a perfect Alice in Wonderland for the Alice Project.

I of course have Mattel's Mad Hatter, and a Dollfactory mouse, who works well as the Doormouse. Still working on finding a bunny anthro bjd that would work for the March Hare.

Alice is wearing the Moxie Girls' Alice outfit, and Only Hearts club shoes...I really need to get her a little pair of snazzy black boots , the silk ribbon I tied in her hair. She is so adorable! I want to make a bunch of variations on dresses for her.
Since having her arrive, I have found all kinds of Blythe silliness that is such fun on Flicker- which is my Alice is above holding Wubba Chickens!  Click Blythe and her Wubba Chiken! group on flicker, the pictures of these dolls holding the wubbas is so comical!

So I finally gathered up some of the Alice in WOnderland Re-ment, the Hatter, and Minuette mouse for a tea party for the wubbas arrival today. Enjoy the pics!

Most of the tea items are Alice in Wonderland tea Re-ment, except for the Ruetter porcelain teapot and china cup the wubbs are in that Alice is freaking over, and the cheshire in the little plastic cube. He came out of a gumball machine years ago!
The tea party is taking place in my Sindy kitchen diorama on one of my shelves in my doll room- the Mad Hatter is really too tall for the Rement table and chairs, though Alice works in it well. Still looking for a suitable table and chairs, out of wood, that will work. I have a Bespaq round tea table, but getting chairs is another story altogether that fit the dolls and wonderland theme.
Enjoy!