Happy New Year!

"What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet."
                                                    --Anne Frank

In this chalkboard flat lay, Simply Sparkly Spark is wearing the stock gown from Cinema Princess. We wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.

Walking Down the Street

She's got places to go and people to see. Maybe she will do a little shopping along the way. 

This is Sarah Shades, wearing an outfit I made for a friend for Christmas. The boots are from Mod Molly's stock. I actually made one of these outfits for myself too (I usually make two at the same time), so you will see one of my dolls wearing it occasionally!

Recently I've noticed--I mean, really NOTICED--how much pleasure my dolls give me. I enjoy everything about them: dressing them, brushing their hair, setting them up for photos, making things for them, etc. Whenever I notice myself thinking about anything unpleasant ("ugh, the dentist next week") I picture my Blythe dolls instead, and the bad thoughts go away!

Patty Patch!

I released Patty Patch Fluffy Coat from her box on Christmas Day. WOW! She's awesome!

I was very curious about her hair. The pictures I've seen of her show a whole range of colors from magenta to orange. It turns out that it is a dark red. I was also interested to see how it is cut, because I've heard people complaining that it is uneven. Yes, it is uneven--it is cut shorter on the sides than at the back, so her curls hang in a nice curve; the effect is quite beautiful. In these pictures, her hair has been washed once with Dawn Platinum, and conditioned briefly with Downy fabric softener.

Her stock outfit is very nice. My favorite? The boots--SO CUTE!! The headband is really cute too; it is something that would be very easy to make, which makes me ask, why didn't I think of this myself? The coat is indeed fluffy, and it is quirky with sleeves that are half-length. Her patchy dress has a nice velvet detail at the top, which I didn't notice in pictures before I got her. Her tights fit well and were easy to put on. I was pleasantly surprised by the fun color of her stand--the bright green is something I don't remember seeing before.

Merry Christmas to All!

Ice Rune and Cousin Olivia are sledding your way to wish you a happy Christmas day!

Pastel Christmas

Dreaming of a pastel Christmas.

This is  my new Cream Cheese and Jam Blythe doll, making another Christmas appearance to show off the fabulous dress we received from our friend Angie Coppi (it was made by Tired Mom Knits.)  We NEEDED a pink Christmas dress, so it was an amazing thing to receive! Thanks again Angie! 

Just Another Day in Pleasantville

Welcome to Pleasantville, where the skies are always blue, the animals can talk, and kindness rules the day. 

My sweet dolly friend Angie Coppi sent me a Christmas package full of wonderful goodies; two of them were the inspiration for this photo: the beautiful Christmas tree hat by KaChu on Etsy, and the sweet little bird ornament. Thank you Angie! More pictures to come! 

Christmas Magic

Wishing you a magical Christmas!

This Blythe doll is Cream Cheese and Jam. The little boys are Sonny Angels.

White Christmas

Merry White Christmas from Stella Serendipitous

That Christmas Feeling

It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without hearing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" a few dozen times. 

This pretty Blythe doll is Home Sweet Home. The record player is a Hallmark ornament that actually plays the Rudolph song. 

Peace on Earth #2

Seek peace and follow after it.

Pretty Peony.

Peace

Peace on Earth

This Blythe doll is Pretty Peony, wearing the stock dress and cape from Gerda Eternity.  

Home

Home is where you hang your Christmas stocking.

This is Jane, my one and only Kenner Blythe doll. The inspiration for this picture came to me today when I was looking at my own fireplace mantel, which is decorated for Christmas, and includes my family's four stockings--see the picture below.

It occurred to me that when my children (who are now in their 20's) start their own families, I will give them their stockings to take to their own homes. But for now, this is home, and this is where we all hang our stockings. 

Charlie Brown Christmas

Cecilia: adopter of stray dogs and Charlie Brown Christmas trees. 

Cecilia is my Cinema Princess Blythe doll. Since this picture is for the theme "Charlie Brown Christmas," I thought about making the tree more Charlie Brown-ish by cutting off some of the branches...but I didn't want to ruin my $5 tree from Target! 

In Winter

Winter in the birch grove, at twilight. 

This is Anna Sui, doing what she does best: looking gorgeous. The birch trees are a decoration I just got from Hallmark. This started out as a picture for the theme "The Snowman" but Anna has stolen the show!

Wrap it Up

With a roll of tape and a pair of scissors in her hands, Cece is a genius at gift wrapping. She's so good, in fact, that she opens a pop-up shop in the mall every December. 

I always love photographing Cinema Princess--that hair! Those eyelashes! This picture is for the theme "Edward Scissorhands" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

The scissors (with moving parts) and tape dispenser (with a tiny roll of real tape!) are part of an Our Generation dolls play set, sold at Target.

Home Alone

You're never home alone if you have a cat. 

This Blythe doll is Pretty Peony, posing with her kitty from Violetpi on Etsy. For the theme "Home Alone" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

The Christmas Spirit

As strange as it may seem, I made this picture for the theme "Bad Santa" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr! After I took the picture I noticed that there was empty space at the top and bottom, so I added the words. Now it would be more appropriate for "Christmas Spirit" or something similar. Anyway, the story to go with it (before I added the words) is this: "The man she hired to hand out gifts at the children's Christmas party canceled at the last minute. What a bad Santa! Fortunately, Marina had a Santa's Helper outfit in her car, so she quickly changed her clothes and the party went off without a hitch."

This Middie is Bubbly Bliss. Isn't her stock dress lovely? And Playful Raindrops looks cute in Frosty Frock's stock outfit. 

Angel Wings

This is Mermaid Tasha, one of the most gorgeous Blythe dolls ever! The quote is from the movie "It's a Wonderful Life," although in the movie they say "his" wings...of course I had to change that!

Now that she's dressed as an angel, I'm going to put her on the top of our Christmas tree, where we can enjoy her all month long. 

Excitement!

Today is December first--HOORAY! That means it's almost CHRISTMAS!!

The two on the left are Sonny Angels. The two on the right are Kiko and Ken Momiji dolls (did you even notice Ken? He's very small!) The Blythe in the middle is the theme for this picture: "Elf," in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

What do you do when you want to participate in the daily picture theme, but you don't have anything in your collection that is even vaguely elf-like? You might do what I did--I decided to make elf shoes! They were really quite easy and I love how silly they are.

December 2018 Calendar Page

Tomorrow is the first day of December, so I've made a new Blythe doll calendar page to use as wallpaper on my phone. You can use it too if you like it--it's a little gift from me to you. Merry Christmas! 

The featured doll is the lovely Cadence Majorette wearing a hat I knitted, and a cute dress I received in a swap. Her sled is a Christmas ornament from Target. 

This is how it looks in action. I love having Blythe wallpaper; it makes me happy every time I check my phone!

Letter to Santa

To be sure that her message to Santa doesn't get lost in the mail, Bree always sends him TWO letters.

These Blythe dolls are Vera Florentine (wearing Winterish Allure's stock outfit) and Lena Elena (wearing Dainty Meadow's stock outfit.)

I was super excited when I found this perfectly-sized mailbox recently at our local antique mall.

Is It Christmas Yet?

Santa Claus is coming to town!

These Blythe dolls are Cream Cheese & Jam, Spright Beauty, and Cadence Majorette. Aren't they pretty in their pastel holiday outfits? Thank you Angie for the gift of the cute Frosty Frock stock outfit (in the middle), I love it!

Here at my house, I've put up the Christmas tree in the living room, and the lights on the front door and the bushes along the front walk. I still need to decorate the mantel in the family room; then most of the preparations will be complete. I'm really enjoying taking Christmas-themed pictures of my dolls this week. I just hope I don't run out of ideas--or Christmas spirit--before the day actually arrives!

Dreams Begin

Do you have a dream that you are following? Cadence Majorette has inspired me to think about this, and come up with something new to work toward in the coming year. 

Giving Thanks

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!

This Blythe doll is Vera Florentine, wearing Winterish Allure's stock dress and Playful Raindrops' hair bow. 

Buttons

Who's got the button?

This is the ever-lovely Snowflake Sonata, for the theme "Button" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. I love this button-y dress I made when I first got into this fun hobby. This theme was easy for me because I have a huge button collection!

Procrastinator

Portrait of a procrastinator: School starts in 20 minutes, and Veronica is scrambling to finish her homework.

This Blythe doll is Bow Wow Trad, posing for the theme "Student" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. All the school-related props are made for Our Generation dolls, sold at Target.

Skating Weather

Finally--it's skating weather! Chloe's off to find a frozen pond. 

I hope I'm not rushing the winter season too much! It's just that, now that the weather is colder, I'm ready for some frosty landscapes! I know that a lot of the eastern US got snow yesterday. Here in Virginia, it was just cold rain. Yuck! 

Chloe is my newest Blythe, Cream Cheese and Jam. 

November 2018 Calendar Page

It's November, so you might want to set up some new seasonal wallpaper on your phone--like I do! Here's the picture I made just for that purpose. Mod Molly is feeling the autumn vibe and she wants to share it with you!

To use this on your phone, tap the photo below and save it. Then go to "settings" and tap on wallpaper, then choose this one when your photos open. 

The picture below shows how it looks on my phone's lock screen. You can adjust the size to your liking. 

Halloween Wish

The Neo Blythe is Spright Beauty; the Middie Blythe is Francoise Ananassa. The half-naked boys are Sonny Angels from this year's Halloween collection; aren't they cute? I love that they are in pastel colors; that's what inspired me to use pink-haired girls in this Halloween picture. The black cat girl in the front is a Lalaloopsy mini from a few years ago. 

Let's Go for a Hay Ride

Everyone waits patiently for Maximus to accept his carrot bribe; then Cowgirl Joy will hitch him to the wagon and the hay ride can commence!

Perhaps the cute dolls in the foreground (Middies Cool Pool Lemonade, Yellow Marshmallow, and Lena Elena, and Neo Unicorn Maiden) kept you from noticing the cool new barn backdrop I found at World Market this week. I love it, although it's really big and heavy; but it has hooks on the back so it can be hung on the wall...which will be a good way to store it when it's not being used for dolly photos. 

Until Next Year

With a cheerful "Happy Halloween!" Maeve bids everyone farewell as she moves her Potions and Poisons wagon on to the next town. Hopefully, you bought enough to last a while, because this witch won't be back until next year!

She is Chocolat Blythe

Cream Cheese and Jam

Cream Cheese and Jam! What a funny name for this beautiful doll.  I'm currently trying to come up with a "real" name for her. Isn't she lovely, with her mint green hair? 

Her outfit is well-made and highly detailed. My favorite pieces are the hat and cape, because they are CUTE and they will work well together with other dresses on other dolls. I also like her shoes, which look quite different from any other Blythe shoes that we have. They fit well and go on easily, and the ankle strap should keep them on her little feet. 

She's only just arrived, and already she's taken the dog and gone out shopping! 

Potions and Poisons

Hurry! Maeve's Potions and Poisons wagon is in town for one week only. This is the perfect time to get everything you need for that special autumn brew. 

She is Chocolat Blythe...the perfect girl for this witchy theme. I found this cool wagon at Target.

Spooky Fun

The Halloween decorating has begun!

My daughter and I found these two fun Halloween decorations for sale at Busch Gardens when we were there for the Halloween event, Howl-o-Scream. They are made here in Virginia, by Ginger Cottages. That's Sarah Shades posing with them.

October 2018 Calendar Page

With Halloween at the end of the month, it was the obvious choice as the theme for October's calendar page. I didn't want the picture to be full-on ghosts, goblins, and jack-o-lanterns, however; I wanted it to be more subtle; so I avoided the temptation to put a witch hat on Anna Sui! 

 This is designed to be used as wallpaper on your cell phone--feel free to use it if you like it, or the full-color version which follows. 

Below, you can see what the picture looks like in full color. When I completed it, I was playing around with it and discovered that in PicMonkey (the picture editor that I use), when I used the black and white edit, the color of the calendar overlay stayed orange--and I loved that and wanted to keep it. I added orange to the pumpkin to give it a bit more zing, and voila! A picture I am very pleased with for the season. 

You can see how it looks on my cell phone, below. Happy October, everyone!

Take a Break

One nice thing about working from home is that you can take your lunch break whenever you want to.

This is my newest Blythe doll, Sarah Shades. Her lunch is a rement set I recently found locally, at the Barnes and Noble book store. 

Winners!

It was a great day at the horse show for Joy and Maximus. They took first place!

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See, I said I had to take more pictures with this wonderful cowboy hat! This Blythe doll is Unicorn Maiden. The trophy and ribbon are accessories for Our Generation dolls (sold at Target.)

Unicorn Cowboy

Yee haw!! This Unicorn Maiden is going country!

About a month ago, when I knew that Unicorn Maiden (whom I named Joy) would soon be joining my collection of Blythe dolls, I decided to splurge on this gorgeous cowboy outfit with the idea that it would look great on my new pink haired girl. I've seen and admired it for quite a while--it's part of Darling Diva's stock (she was the 5th Anniversary doll in 2006, and she came with three complete outfits.) I ordered it from Mandarake, and by coincidence, it arrived on the same day as Unicorn Maiden! Look at the size of that box; it's even larger than the doll's box!

I LOVE THIS OUTFIT SO MUCH!!!

The jacket and skirt are made from soft pink suede. The back of the jacket is embroidered with horses to match the skirt, plus a heart and the name Blythe. The pink rose earrings came with the outfit. Isn't it great that Unicorn Maiden has pierced ears and can wear these earrings?

The kicker for me (pun intended) are the boots. Oh how I love the special boots Takara makes! I also love the cowboy hat (I wish I had included it in more of the pictures, but that gives me a reason to take MORE pictures!)

"Happy trails!" to everyone from Joy.