Independence Day 2020

Happy 4th of July to all, from Pretty Peony and me!

Outdoor Movie Night

They weren't sure about this whole "outdoor movie night" thing, being indoor girls; and yes, there were bugs, and bats flying around which made them cringe; but there were also cooling breezes, and bright constellations of stars in the velvet sky, which made up for most of their discomfort.

These Blythe dolls are Pretty Peony, Simply Lilac, and Sea Sailor See.

Warning: Nudity Ahead!

Hello Blythe lovers! I had one more idea for the Blythe Museum Challenge (#blythemuseumchallenge) on Facebook, so I rounded up some Blythe dolls and made an effort to re-create Henri Matisse's work, "Dance 1". Yes, they're naked, but it's art, so it's okay. 

These five Blythe dolls are, from left to right: Sea Sailor See, Lady Camellia, Pretty Peony, Daunting Drusilla, and Milky Way Sugar. The background is fabric. They made good use of their pull rings to facilitate the hand-holding necessary for this picture. I hope you get a laugh out of this--I did!

Have You Heard?

"Gossip is just news running ahead of itself in a red satin dress."
                                                                 --Liz Smith

Liz Smith was an American gossip columnist for several major newspapers, from 1976 to 2009. With gossip as her livelihood, it's no surprise that she would elevate it to the same level as news--and make it sound fancier by putting it in a red dress!

The doll on the left is Pretty Peony wearing the stock dress from Love Mission. The Blythe on the right is Mermaid Tasha. This picture is for the theme "Satin Doll" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

It's Too Hot!

One of Pretty Peony's hobbies is to test familiar sayings and urban legends. Here, she poses for the theme "Hot" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr while pursuing her passion. Perhaps you remember this one from last summer: 

Adventure Awaits

They were all ready for an adventure, so they loaded up the boat and headed toward the beach of an unexplored island. 

From left to right, these Blythe dolls are: Mermaid Tasha, Pretty Peony, and Sarah Shades. This picture is for the theme "Swimsuit" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

This is the first chance I've had to use this boat, which I found at Hobby Lobby (on sale!) a couple of months ago. 

Florida Vacation

Paige spent a whole day doing the photo shoot for this travel poster. Now she really wants to visit Florida!

Paige is my Pretty Peony Blythe doll. This picture is for the theme "Holiday/Traveling" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. Her dress is from Prima Dolly Heather Sky. The background is an actual poster.

Fishy Fun

Hey everybody, gather around! The new aquarium is set up, and the fish are very entertaining!

I put this picture together for the theme "profile" in the Blythe Weekly group on Flickr. I found this aquarium at a toy store about a year ago (it took me long enough to use it in a picture, didn't it?) I got a surprise when I picked it up today--on the bottom, the directions say to fill it will water and the fish will reach full size in 72 hours. WHAT?? The fish will grow?? So cool! I couldn't wait 72 hours to take this picture--I had everything set up and ready to go--but it's  probably better with the fish small, anyway, so you can see Curly Blue Babe behind the tank. The girl on the left is Pretty Peony; the girl on the right is Bow Wow Trad. 

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 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. 

Be a Doll

They have the art of "being a doll" down to a science!

Pretty Peony (Neo Blythe) and Melomelomew (Middie Blythe) are joined by a representative sample of all the different types of dolls in my doll room. For the theme "Be a Doll" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

Life is But a Dream

Row, row, row your boat
gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
life is but a dream. 

I am so happy to be back to making doll pictures again! 

I've just finished rearranging my house, so now all my dolls, along with all their clothes and photo props, are upstairs in the bedroom that used to belong to my son. (He has been out of the house for a couple of years, so I thought it was safe to use his old room!) I also transferred everything from my old sewing room which was downstairs, up to the new space, so I now have a big studio where I can work, and I can close the door to keep out the cats when I'm done. Up until now I've had a small sewing room with no door, and all my dolls and photography props had taken over our small dining room, which also has no door. I knew it would be a huge and difficult task to move it all upstairs, which is why it has taken so long to happen, but I am so glad I finally did it.

Now that the dust has settled, it's time to be creative with dolls again--yay! In today's photo,  Pretty Peony and her friends might be floating down a stream in bathtubs; or perhaps they are safe at home, only imagining this adventure. 

Casual

This is Pretty Peony, posing for the theme "Casual Affair" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. She's wearing the stock dress from Strawberries 'n Creamy Cute.

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!

Relax

I'm heading out of town for a week to help my mother with some things, and I will keep thinking of this picture while I am gone, because I am anxious! I don't like to travel, and I don't like to be away from my home, husband, and cats...so I will remind myself repeatedly to be like Pretty Peony, and relax!

Reality TV

Next time on Survivor: 

I really like my new Pretty Peony! She seems to look good in anything. Today she is posing as a castaway in one of my favorite TV shows, "Survivor." This photo is for the theme "Reality TV" in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr. 

The Cat Collector

Ruth never intended to have a cat collection...it just happened.

This is Pretty Peony, wearing a dress I made. My daughter painted the two funny individual cat portraits for me when I asked for pieces that were small and brightly colored. The amazing cat banner came to me in a craft swap when I was active on Craftster.org a few years ago. My swap partner is an artist, obviously...she asked for pictures of my four cats, and she painted a cartoon portrait of each one. Her name is Kira Nichols, and if you would like to see more of her work, you can find her blog HERE.

Pretty Peony

I was pleasantly surprised when Pretty Peony arrived at my house on February 13th, a week or so before I thought she was due to be released! Isn't her box pretty? I love the colors.

I'm totally in love with this girl, from head to toe! Her hair is fabulous--the deep blue color is great, and it needed just a quick shampoo to be smooth and silky. Her stock outfit is one of my all-time favorites, especially the dress. It has slits up the side that expose an aqua-colored underskirt (which, sadly, didn't show in this picture!) The turquoise edging at the hem, neckline, and arm holes is a really nice detail. 

A word of warning about the jacket: the black color will stain her arms in a very short time, so if you have her, DO NOT leave the jacket on her for any more than the time it takes to photograph her, unless you first wrap her arms in plastic. Overnight, this girl developed dark marks on the backs of her arms. In my experience, these stains will fade and even disappear completely over time, so I'm not going to worry about it--but I know this would really bother a lot of collectors. 

Now to think of a name...