How to Have a Happy Heart

Nothing makes a heart happier than playing with dolls. So...what are you waiting for? 

These are my "heavenly" Miss Sally Rice twins, Sally and Susie. They are joined by a trio of Sonny Angels to bring you today's inspirational message. The embroidered hoop came from my partner in a craft swap I did a few years ago; she did her research and made this just for me because I love hearts!

Beauty

"The most beautiful face in the world? It's yours!"

                                                              --Estee Lauder

This beautiful face belongs to Lady Camellia (I call her Emiko.) I recently found this pretty dress on eBay; it's from a maker in Ireland. It suits Emiko very well, I think. Even though I can (and do) make clothes for my dolls, I like to add things made by others to my collection, for more variety in my photos, and so I can see what techniques someone else used in their sewing. Since I am mostly self-taught, it helps me learn and grow as a sewist. (You'll notice I didn't say "sewer" because that could be misread as the place where waste water goes!)

Go Fly a Kite

It's just as windy now, in April, as it was in March, so Quinn is taking advantage of it to hone her kite-flying skills. 

Isn't this dress lovely on Princess Milk BisQuit de Q-Pot? Until it arrived in the mail a few days ago, she hadn't been out of her stock outfit. The dress is by Corinne Massacry, and it was sent to me by a dear friend, from her personal collection of Corinne's dresses; she knew I was having a very bad week, and this really brightened my day. My friend sent this particular dress for a couple of reasons: first, she thought it would look good on Q-Pot, my newest Blythe, and it does! Second, she knows I love Corinne's dresses (and I only had one before this one.) The dress is just loaded with small details that make it really special. Q-Pot is wearing her stock boots, which are great with the dress.

This picture is another one of my new favorite things: it's a chalkboard flat lay. This is the first time I've tried different colored chalks, and I like the effect. Just in case you are interested, this chalk is by Sargent Art, and it works great for drawing.

Everything

Her Royal Highness, Penelope, the Princess of Everything.

Snowflake Sonata

Close Up

Her lips are sealed. 

This is my Bow Wow Trad Blythe doll, for the theme "Close Up" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. This is another one of the buttons I collected when I was in college. I used to wear one or more of them every day.

Show Me a Sign

Jane knows a sign when she sees one. 

Jane is my Kenner Blythe doll.

I made these hearts for a blog project in 2012; a friend who knows I love hearts suggested that I should do a blog for which I would make a heart every day and post it. So I did! It was really fun, but as with all projects like this, there were days/weeks when I couldn't manage a heart every day, so I would make up for the lost days by mass-producing hearts for a couple of different projects. You can find that blog here: 365 Sewn Hearts.

We Love Spring Flowers

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see; 
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

                      --Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is Jill, my Home Sweet Home Blythe doll. This picture is for the theme "I Love ___" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

Scrabble Day

I love a good game of Scrabble...but ever since I got my iPad, I've only played it electronically. The one I play is Words with Friends 2, so I'm playing with real people around the world. The best part? The game keeps score automatically. It's lots of fun! My name in the game is Happy Cat 3; look for me, I would love to beat you play with you!

This is my amazing Cinema Princess Blythe doll. I made her dress a couple of years ago, because I like the fun, bright print, but I've never had the perfect picture for it to star in...until now!

Where's Heidi?

This is my take on the theme, "Where's Waldo?" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. By poking around in our attic, I was able to find lots of toys for this picture...we haven't gotten rid of any of the kid's Beanie Babies! I was also able to use some handmade dolls that I keep on display all the time (the two Raggedy Ann-style dolls, and the black doll with the big smile came from craft fairs; the mermaid on the left is one that I made.)

I think this picture would make a good jigsaw puzzle!

Heidi, my Cousin Olivia Blythe doll, isn't too hard to find in the middle of the photo. 

Humans...

Those humans. What would a doll do without them?

This is Princess Milk BisQuit de Q-Pot wearing her stock outfit. This picture is for the theme "Those Humans: what would we do without them?" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

Fool's Gold

Give fools their gold and knaves their power; 
let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; 
who sows a field or trains a flower, 
or plants a tree, is more than all.

                          --from "A Song of Harvest" by John Greenleaf Whittier

Since I didn't have any great ideas on how to develop the theme of "Fool's Gold" (in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr), I did what I could with it, with this quote by John Greenleaf Whittier and a couple of props. Then I focused on this as a chance to do a comparison picture between Blythe Adores Anna Sui and Lady Camellia. Their hair is very similar in color; Anna's is a bit more purple, while Camellia's is a little more brown. The biggest difference between them is their makeup; Anna has a lot of color, while Camellia has much less. It's funny that when they are side-by-side, I like the more natural look of Lady Camellia, but in real life, I prefer Anna Sui. In fact, Anna (whom I call Zelda) is my favorite Blythe doll. Which do you prefer?

Anna's dress is by Endangered Sissy; Camellia's is the stock dress from Spright Beauty. I've never used this stock dress since I took it off SB...I think the fairy wings on the back made me think it could only be a fairy dress, but I just realized that the wings detach, and without them it looks like a perfectly nice dress for any doll. 

Name Yourself

When a new girl arrives at my house, I know it won't be long before the carnival arrives, too. It mysteriously appears in the back field, with the curious Wheel of Names out in front. The unnamed girl is given eight possible names, and with one hard spin, she finds the one that will be hers. Only one spin per person.

This doll is Pretty Peony. The name she received is...at the bottom of this post. This photo is for the theme "Name Yourself Day" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

I realized as I was setting this up that Pretty Peony's hair is really too dark to work well in a chalkboard flat lay, but she is the only girl I have at the moment who is unnamed, so she had to step up to the Wheel. Her new name is: Paige!

Zoo

It's easy to run your own zoo, with a good imagination. 

This Middie is Lena Elena, wearing clothes made for Lottie dolls. 

Karma

When I was in college I started a collection of pin-back buttons; this is one of the funnier ones. My favorite might be the one that says "Hello, Bill!" which I bought several years before I met the man I married...named Bill.

She is Mandy Cotton Candy. This photo is for the theme "Karma" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

Bike Ride

Never slow down!

Another chalkboard flat lay. I love doing these! The middie is Yellow Marshmallow and the neo is UFO A Go Go. 

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Marina suspects that Jubilee may be a world-class liar. 

Jubilee, on the left, is Simply Thumpty Thump. Marina is Playful Raindrops. The painting was my birthday gift from my artist daughter. This photo is for the theme "Tell a Lie Day" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

How Times Change

These dolls are Vera Florentine and Lil' Heart by Milk. Their hair color is almost exactly the same, but you can see how very different their makeup is. Do you think Vera looks too overdone, or does Milk look too plain? Or maybe they are both just right?

This picture is for the theme "Dialogue" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

World Party Day

"Let's pretend to have a party! I'll be the birthday girl!"

Three things happened before I thought of making this simple picture:

1. About a month ago, when I was shopping and I saw a lovely framed chalkboard that I didn't need, and for which I don't have any wall space...but I LOVED it. However, since I couldn't think of a good reason to get it, I left the store without it.

2. One day last week, I had the pleasure of watching my daughter create a work of art, on site at the business where it will hang on the wall...the medium was white chalk paint, and the canvas was a chalkboard. It looked like fun. Interestingly, I didn't even think about the pretty framed chalkboard at the time; but the seed was planted when I saw how much a person could do with chalk on a board.

3. A few days ago, when I was scrolling through some doll photos online, one picture really grabbed my attention: someone had drawn a background for their Blythe on a chalkboard, and put her on top to look like she was in the drawing.

--and suddenly I was jumping into my car and heading across town with my fingers crossed, hoping that the chalkboard I had seen last month would still be there. It was!!! Hooray!!! I quickly bought it, and some chalk, and went home to experiment with them. Here's another picture of the chalkboard so you can see the frame. Pretty, right?

This is my first attempt at a chalkboard flat lay photo. I like the simplicity of the background combined with the 3-D doll; it really makes her stand out while also setting the scene. It solves a problem I run into frequently when thinking of a photo of a doll: I know what kind of a background I would like, but I don't have anything like it on hand. With a chalkboard I can draw anything I need. A chalk drawing doesn't take long to do, and it's fun! I have a hundred other ideas now, so there will be many more chalkboard flat lays in my future.

This doll is Snowflake Sonata, wearing a dress from The Windy Hill on Etsy--it was a birthday gift to me from a dear dolly friend. Thanks, Angie!

This photo is for the theme "World Party Day" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr.

Here's the painting my daughter Jenna did at Grow in Norfolk, Virginia:

...and here is Jenna with her painting:

Eat More Fruit

Healthy eating is delicious!

Simply Bubble Boom, for the theme "Produce" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr.

Practical Joker

Bree always goes a little too far with her April Fool's pranks. Watch out, June!

Bree is a Lena Elena Middie Blythe doll; her unsuspecting sister is Francoise Ananassa. They are wearing outfits made for Lottie dolls, which fit them well.

Happy Easter!

We wish everyone a happy day full of Easter blessings!