Jane in Pink

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate. 

                                                  --William Shakespeare

This is Jane, my Kenner Blythe doll.

Nature

"We can never have enough nature."

                                         --Henry David Thoreau

This is Cecilia, my new Cinema Princess Blythe doll. I wish this scene was a real place--I would love to spend some time there!

Beauty

She Walks in Beauty, Like the Night She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meets in her aspect and her eyes -Lord Byron

This is Anna Sui, my current favorite Blythe doll. I call her Zelda. Her hair! Her hair is a dark, dusky purple; it is so soft, and slightly wavy. It's perfectly beautiful. As is she. 

Another Happy Birthday

I had such a nice birthday last Friday: my dear husband showered me with gifts, I received many warm wishes on Facebook, and I bought myself a doll! Yay! One of my favorite gifts from that day is this background my daughter Jenna drew for me to use in dolly photos. I told her I wanted something monochromatic, something like a sketch, something that looked like a storefront...and when I saw this Bakery background, my jaw dropped--it is EXACTLY what I wanted! She is such a talented artist (yes, she did go to art school), so to receive a hand-made gift from her is always exciting!

I like to make birthday-themed photos on a regular basis, so I will have something new to post on friends' timelines on Facebook when it is their special day. (If you want to "friend" me on Facebook, my name there is Leslie Ann Andersen, and I have Blythe dolls as my avatar.) I know just the person to be the first one to receive this picture on their timeline--I'm going to go post it now!

This is the purple-haired Anna Sui, whom I call Zelda.

Giant Mushrooms!

Wow! Look at those giant mushrooms!

...is what I said to myself last week when I saw them in a photo on Flickr by the incredibly talented photographer, pure_embers (Laura Embers). I'm a sucker for awesome dolly photo props, and I just HAD to have those mushrooms, so I did what I always do when I need something: I visited Amazon.com. I searched "mushroom sculpture", and before you could say "Cheese!", it was on it's way to me.

I love this springtime outdoor environment; let me tell you how I created it. The background is a piece of fabric I found at eQuilter (for a link to the fabric, click HERE ). The ground is a moss runner I recently picked up at World Market; it is meant for a table or mantelpiece as part of your Easter decorating. It is apparently made of real moss, glued to a background--it really sheds a lot! The mossy stones in front of the mushrooms are sold as "vase fillers", and they came from Amazon (the link is HERE). There--now you know all my secrets!

It might be difficult to incorporate these mushrooms into other photos and settings...my usual go-to girls with fantasy hair colors and bright dresses don't seem to go with it. I will have to experiment. It will be a challenge. I'm up for it!

This model is Patience, my ever-lovely Veronica Lace Blythe doll.  (I don't know the maker of her dress, because I purchased it second-hand.)

Actually, there is ONE more secret I will share with you. If you are wondering where/how I set up my pictures, here it is: an unedited, straight-from-the-camera photo of my work space. I set up most of my pictures on this old baby-changing table (I had to remove the front rail). It's a great size, and there are two open shelves underneath to store props. After taking a picture (with my Panasonic Lumix camera) I edit it in PicMonkey: I usually have to crop it, brighten it, warm up the colors, and then throw in an effect or two, such as Lomo or Burst. I play around with it until I feel like the photo really "grabs" me, and then I save it to my computer. I put all my best ones on Flickr; I consider that my back-up in case something happens to my computer. Editing makes all the difference between a boring picture and a great one. l

Matching Dresses

At a customer's request, I made a Middie-size dress to match the Neo kitty dress I made last week. I've made Middie dresses before, but they were looser in the waist. This time, I adjusted the pattern so it would be a miniature version of the Neo dress, and I love how it turned out.

There's even a pair of kitty panties to match!

Cecilia

I recently had a birthday, and--no surprise--I bought myself a new Blythe doll!

I've wanted Cinema Princess for quite a while, as much for her gorgeous box as for the doll herself, so when I found her at Mandarake, I placed my order. (Side note: Mandarake is awesome! I've bought several dolls there, and they arrive from Japan as quickly as they would arrive from a few states away. I paid on Tuesday and she arrived on Friday--and this has been my experience every time.)

Below: birthday haul.

She came with two stock outfits, and a beautiful pink chair. There are so many tiny accessories--a full set of jewelry to go with this gown, plus shoes, gloves, and a crown; and then there is a riding outfit, which I haven't opened yet...it has about a dozen pieces. So. Much. Stuff. I wanted to take a quick picture of her with these beautiful tulips, which my mother sent me, while they are still fresh; in the coming week I will try to take a few more pictures to showcase all the things that came with her.

I've named her Cecilia. And wait a minute--a riding outfit? Does this mean I have to find her a horse??

Zelda

This is my gorgeous Blythe Adores Anna Sui doll. I named her Zelda, which is a name I've always liked; it seems slightly exotic to me, and it has the literary association of being the name of F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife, who was also a writer. When I mentioned the name to my adult daughter, I wasn't surprised that she immediately thought of the Nintendo game called The Legend of Zelda. I did a little Googling, and discovered that the creator of that video game actually named it after Zelda Fitzgerald! Isn't that an interesting fact? 

Green is the Color...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The beautiful Allegra Champagne poses for one more picture...I took this last week, when I was using her as my model exclusively, and now I will tell you why: I was trying to help a friend sell HER Allegra Champagne, and my plan was to take to most appealing pictures of her that I could manage, and to post them on Facebook, where my friend had her doll for sale. And it worked! A few days after I started posting pictures, the doll sold (although the newly-lowered price had something to do with it too, I'm sure.)

Picnic in the Park

When the weather is this nice, it would just be WRONG to stay inside!

These Blythe dolls are Ice Rune and Cousin Olivia.

Selfie Sunday

It's a beautiful day! Zelda grabbed her friends and headed to the park to enjoy the outdoors. Happy Selfie Sunday, everyone!

These Blythe dolls are, from left to right: Sadie Sprinkle (I call her Juliette), Blythe Adores Anna Sui (Zelda), and Allegra Champagne (Bridget).

Child of the Universe

"You are a child of the universe,
 no less than the trees and the stars;
 you have a right to be here." 
                               --from "The Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann

 

The quote, above, is from the poem called The Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. I remember hearing this poem when I was in high school, and I just re-read it--wow! It contains so much wisdom and good advice. I expect to use several more quotes from in to accompany doll pictures in the near future. (Click on the blue words to go to the full text.)

This lovely angel is Bridget, my Allegra Champagne Blythe doll.

Words of Wisdom

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
                                                     --Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is Mandy Cotton Candy; I call her Paisley. Her friend is a mini Lalaloopsy who came in one of the new "blind box" paint can packages. I love the surprise of blind boxes, and I love Lalaloopsies, so I was excited to get one, and I am very pleased with this little girl When I read the insert that came with the package, I had a second surprise: these Lala's are not unique to the paint cans; they seem to be nothing more than the regular Lalaloopsies, repackaged! I'm so glad I didn't get one I already have! The paint can is cute, and although the scale of it is a bit big for Blythe, I hope to find a way to use it with my dolls (after removing the label, of course!)

Natural Beauty

A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.  
                                                         --Zen Shin

Allegra Champagne, the 15th Anniversary Blythe doll.  She is especially beautiful because not only is she translucent, she also has a pearly finish to her face.

Poetry and Daffodils

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

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BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Continuous as the stars that shine 

And twinkle on the milky way, 

They stretched in never-ending line 

Along the margin of a bay: 

Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 

The waves beside them danced; but they 

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: 

A poet could not but be gay, 

In such a jocund company: 

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought 

What wealth the show to me had brought: 

For oft, when on my couch I lie 

In vacant or in pensive mood, 

They flash upon that inward eye 

Which is the bliss of solitude; 

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils. 

This is Bridget, my Allegra Champagne Blythe doll. The daffodils in our front yard have been in bloom for almost two weeks now, and I wanted to capture a few of them before they go. I hope you didn't mind the long-ish poem, but it seemed to be just the right thing to accompany this photo.